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Durand appointed RIPTA CEO

By

Christopher Allen

-

11/21/2024

Screenshot — THE RIPTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS selected interim CEO Christopher Durand to serve in the role permanently. / SCREENSHOT OF RIPTA MEETING

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Public Transit Authority board of directors on Thursday unanimously approved the appointment of Christopher Durand as permanent CEO, subject to contract negotiations. Durand, who previously served as RIPTA’s chief financial officer, has been interim chief executive of the quasi-public agency since April when Scott Avedisian stepped down. Avedisian, who made an

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PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Public Transit Authority board of directors on Thursday unanimously approved the appointment of Christopher Durand as permanent CEO, subject to contract negotiations. Durand, who previously served as RIPTA's chief financial officer, has been interim chief executive of the quasi-public agency since April when Scott Avedisian stepped down. Avedisian, who made an annual salary of $181,796, submitted his resignation letter after being charged with leaving the scene of a Warwick accident. Last June, the RIPTA board awarded Florida-based Merraine Group a $60,000 contract to conduct a national search for a CEO. Peter Alviti Jr., RIPTA board chairperson and R.I. Department of Transportation director, said he heard feedback from rank-and-file staff, labor unions, transit industry stakeholders and Rhode Island public officials. "All of those things build the foundation for an organization you are going to take into the future," he said. As the top executive, Durand will steer the agency through its plan to build a new transit hub. In 2023, the board of directors approved a $16.9 million contract with Next Wave Partners to begin the first phase of designing and building the center, publicly funded from a $35 million bond for mass transit infrastructure approved by voters in 2014. RIPTA has yet to determine where the hub will be located. Last month, RIPTA announced it is no longer considering the I-195 Redevelopment District as a potential option, with Durand saying the agency was “evaluating several potential locations with high priority given” to those “in close proximity to the Providence train station." Next Wave is now “seeking additional engineering information, which will allow the consortium “to make a more informed formal recommendation for a potential site," he said at the time. During his update on Thursday, Durand said daily ridership this month is up 3% over November 2023. Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.