Grow Smart RI calls on Gov. McKee to follow through on his idea for directing surplus funds to RIPTA
When Governor McKee held a June 25th press conference to express displeasure with the State Budget, he recommended an alternate way of directing a one-time transfer of $15M to RIPTA from a combination of ‘surplus funds’ and gas tax revenue freed up by the end of debt service payments on a bond.
Now, in the face of the largest RIPTA service cuts ever to be proposed – which will affect tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders and their employers – we call on the Governor to work with legislative leadership in flexing those surplus funds to avert these devastating cuts to our public transit system, which numerous outside studies have concluded is run efficiently.
We also call on our leaders to follow the example of so many other states developing reliable and sustainable ways of funding public transit as vital and essential infrastructure for addressing our housing crisis and ensuring a vibrant 21st century economy.
In 2024, 51 cities and metro regions across America passed ballot measures to improve public transit as an investment in economic, environmental and social health. Here in Rhode Island – the 2nd most urbanized state in the nation – we should be expanding and enhancing public transit, not sending it into a death spiral.
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