We are an independent, grassroots group fighting to preserve, expand, and improve public transportation in Rhode Island.

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We have been working on transit issues since 2010, when members of the social justice and environmental communities came together to form the group. We have successfully fought to stop fare hikes, secure more funding for RIPTA, and to restore the no-fare bus pass for seniors and those with disabilities.
RITR believes that a high-quality public transportation system plays an outsized role in enhancing our state’s economy, reducing climate changing emissions and affording most Rhode Islanders safe, affordable, and dependable access to their community’s opportunities for work, education, and all of life’s essentials, while reducing existing equity gaps in our overall transportation system.

What We Do

Advocating for Dedicated, Sustainable Transit Funding to Preserve and Expand Service

As RIPTA faces an increasing fiscal cliff, we advocate at the State House for a dedicated, sustainable revenue source for RIPTA to prevent service cuts and fully implement the Transit Master Plan, RIPTA’s 20 year vision for expanding service throughout the state.

Engaging with the New Providence Transit Hub

We advocate for a new Providence hub that is a significant improvement over Kennedy Plaza and considers rider needs and overall usability, and we push project leaders to properly engage the community to ensure they serve rider needs effectively.

Ensuring Basic Rider Needs

We ensure RIPTA continues to provide basic rider needs such as passenger amenities at major transportation centers, snow removal from bus stops, and affordable fares, especially for our most vulnerable groups.

Recent News

  • RITR Statement on 8/28 Board of Directors Vote

    September 9th, 2025 Despite the August 28 vote of the RIPTA Board of Directors approving McKee’s deep bus service cuts, RI Transit Riders will not give up fighting to fully fund RIPTA. The danger is that McKee’s deep bus service cuts,  fare increases and less service for riders could put RIPTA in a downward spiral,…

  • RITR Statement on Gov. McKee’s revised service cuts proposal (GoLocalProv)

    August 27th, 2025 Governor McKee’s half-hearted attempt at averting the worst of the proposed RIPTA cuts is weak and dismaying. The Governor precipitated this funding crisis by not taking seriously the state’s dependence on public transit. He could have funded transit in his budget last winter, to the good of all of us, as well…

  • RITR budget statement

    The General Assembly session is over, and it’s bad news for riders. While the General Assembly leadership deserves credit for giving RIPTA $15 million and, importantly, ensuring that this level of funding is sustainable and will be available to RIPTA year after year, this is not enough to overcome McKee’s budget that grossly underfunded RIPTA. …