Rhode Island transit funding and highway spending are headed for a showdown at the State House.
Sen. Samuel D. Zurier is pushing a pair of bills he says would stabilize RIPTA’s shaky finances — and put RIDOT under the microscope.
Zurier (D-Dist. 3, Providence) wants to double the share of state Highway Maintenance Account money going to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, bumping it from 10% to 20% starting July 1, 2026. That shift would cut the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s slice from 90% to 80%.
“Last summer’s efficiency study showed that RIPTA operates at least as efficiently as its peer organizations,” Zurier said, noting lawmakers left the transit agency with a nearly $10 million gap that triggered service cuts. He argues more funding and a closer look at RIDOT’s books could reveal savings to cover the difference.
Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) is set to introduce a House companion.
Transit advocates are cheering the move. Providence Streets Coalition board president Liza Burkin said boosting RIPTA’s share to 20% — in line with the federal Highway Trust Fund standard — would help undo what she called generations of underfunding and support economic, environmental and education goals.
A recent coalition report said service cuts tied to the budget shortfall led to lost riders and stranded passengers.
Zurier’s second bill orders the Department of Administration to commission an independent efficiency and performance audit of RIDOT.
He points to a 2025 Reason Foundation report ranking Rhode Island 30th in cost efficiency per highway lane-mile for capital and bridge work — behind the rest of New England — and to a Nov. 13, 2025 oversight hearing where RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr. couldn’t say if contractors tied to the Washington Bridge failure were still working for the state.
“With a billion dollars a year in construction activities,” Zurier said, “we should apply the same standards of fiscal prudence to RIDOT that we apply to RIPTA.”
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