PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Public Transit Authority has been plagued by communication and computer problems following a cybersecurity incident that occurred late last week.
RIPTA said it has continued uninterrupted transit service with its fixed-route, Flex, and paratransit programs as it works with professional consultants to resolve the issues.
RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian said the primary system that RIPTA uses to store internal employee files and maintain most operations has not been affected. He said none of RIPTA’s safety systems, including vehicle maintenance, have been compromised and the transit authority is able to conduct daily financial operations. “In that respect, we are fully operational,” he said.
“There are specifics that we cannot discuss at the moment, but we want the public to know that our buses are fully operational and that we thank people for their patience,” said Avedisian, who noted that RIPTA does not keep any passenger financial information in house, so that information should remain secure.
“We are methodically working to determine which systems were impacted by the disruption,” he said. “We are working to restore these systems as quickly and as safely as possible and we will alert the public when we are fully back online.”
The main impact on passengers has been with the Wave smart fare payment system, particularly the mobile app, which has not been functioning properly since late last week.
According to RIPTA’s website, the Wave app is a new smart fare collection system, which allows passengers to ride by paying fares with either a smart card or their smartphone.
Avedisian said the problems with the Wave app are being addressed as quickly as possible and he has been told passengers will not lose any prepaid products or balances in their accounts. Drivers have been instructed to let passengers board with Wave mobile apps, even if they are not yet functioning. RIPTA’s computerized phone lines are not yet fully operational and email access has not yet been restored.
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Shuman@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @CassiusShuman.
