NEWS

State weighs merging RIPTA, roads and bridges

Patrick Anderson
panderson@providencejournal.com
RITBA runs the Mount Hope Bridge, pictured, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, Route 138 through Jamestown, the Pell Bridge and the Sakonnet River Bridge. [The Providence Journal, file / Sandor Bodo]

Gov. Gina Raimondo's administration is exploring the idea of merging the quasi-independent agencies that manage East Bay bridges and the state's bus network into the Department of Transportation as she looks to improve public transportation in the state.

No specific plans to alter the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority or any other agency have been proposed and administration officials insist consolidation is only among the options being discussed so far.

But Director of Transportation Peter Alviti Jr. acknowledged Thursday that his agency is "looking" at whether restructuring the transportation bureaucracy might allow for better operations.

"Right now we are looking at it," Alviti told The Journal. "The governor has asked us to look for ways to make transportation more efficient."

Asked to elaborate on what the governor asked DOT to investigate and whether agency consolidation was on the table, Raimondo spokesman Josh Block said she "has been clear that taking a more coordinated approach to improving public transportation is a priority."

"Over the past few years, the RhodeWorks model has successfully brought much-needed improvement to over 100 roads and bridges across our state, and the Governor asked Director Alviti to work with Rhode Island’s other transportation agencies and explore ways of applying that model to find efficiencies and improve the quality of public transportation," Block wrote in an email. "That process is ongoing."

"RhodeWorks" is the Raimondo administration's term for the DOT overhaul she began after taking office in 2015. Although it was most closely associated with tractor trailer tolls, the changes also included growing DOT's workforce to do more functions in-house and giving each major project its own manager responsible for coordinating it.

Raimondo signaled she is taking a new approach to Rhode Island public transportation in her State of the State address last week.

"Now, just imagine what Rhode Island would look like if we improved our trains, buses and public transit the same way we've tackled fixing our roads and bridges," Raimondo said in the speech.

Both the Turnpike and Bridge Authority and the Public Transit Authority are quasi-state agencies overseen by boards appointed by the governor, with the DOT director sitting ex-officio.

RITBA runs the Mount Hope Bridge, the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, Route 138 through Jamestown, the Pell Bridge and the Sakonnet River Bridge.

Pell Bridge tolls account for the majority of the agency's funding, but since 2014 it has also received a percentage of state gas tax collections.

The RITBA has the power to borrow money and it handles toll collections for the DOT's truck toll program.

Last fall long-time Turnpike and Bridge Authority Executive Director Earl J. “Buddy” Croft III announced he would retire at the end of this month. Lori Caron Silveira is slated to replace him Feb. 1.

A spokesperson for the turnpike authority Thursday had no comment.

The Public Transit Authority, which runs the state's bus network, is funded by a mix of sources including passenger fares, direct state contributions, a portion of gas tax collections, Department of Motor Vehicle fees and federal funds.

Asked whether RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian has been involved in consolidation talks, spokeswoman Barbara Polichetti said he's talked with Alviti "on a wide variety of topics, and they have had numerous conversations about developing a collaborative approach to public transportation."

"We’re pleased the Governor is making public transit a top priority," she added in an email. "We look forward to continued discussions with our counterparts in other agencies as we look at ways to build a transportation system that best serves the needs of Rhode Islanders."

Consolidating Rhode Island transportation agencies or moving to a Massachusetts-style secretariat structure has been discussed by policymakers before, most recently during the debate over how to pay for East Bay bridge repairs.