State lawmakers are expected to approve a fiscal 2026 budget that would cover nearly half of the R.I. Public Transit Authority’s more than $30 million shortfall.
The proposed spending plan provides about $15 million annually to RIPTA from a 2-cent increase in the gas tax, on top of a 1-cent increase already scheduled to take effect July 1. There is also a modification to a funding formula that would raise the amount allocated to RIPTA from the state’s Highway Maintenance Account.
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While the additional funding will help RIPTA, it still leaves the agency with a $17 million budget deficit.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said he would work with RIPTA leaders to try to cover the rest of the deficit, with fare increases one possible solution.
RIPTA leaders said they’d welcome the new permanent funding stream but some rider advocates want lawmakers to do more.
“In effect, [the House] is requiring service cuts or fare hikes. Politicians can’t claim to protect public transit if they do that,” said Randall Rose, a member of the Kennedy Plaza Resilience Coalition.
