Back to Research

Turning the RIPTA Bus Around: A Reliability & Restoration Plan

Transit PolicyPublic-Private Partnership

A management plan analyzing Rhode Island's public transit crisis, a $32.6 million structural deficit that forced the largest service cuts in RIPTA's history, and proposing a four-part reform strategy funded entirely through existing federal formula funds and a private-sector partnership, without new state appropriation. Developed with a team of four for Brown's Watson School, grounded in original survey research (158 respondents) and a full pre-mortem risk and uncertainty analysis.

The plan proposes a Community-Based Safety Ambassador program run in partnership with the RI Department of Corrections, redesigned driver schedules, microtransit expansion to address first- and last-mile gaps, and an employer bulk-pass partnership modeled on CVS Health's workforce goals, all sequenced across a 12-month phased rollout with a defined governance structure.

My contributions: co-authored the problem statement and logic model; led the plan's How-To Dimensions section (financial resources, legal authority under Title 39, managerial oversight, staffing, and cross-sector collaboration) and its conclusion; authored the risk and uncertainty analysis in the process-flow assessment; built the project's cost model and budget justification.

The death spiral

Each cut feeds the next, so the plan targets three points on the loop

Fewer riders

−14% ridership on affected routes

Less revenue

$32.6M projected FY2026 deficit; still $10M short after $15M state aid

Further cuts

45 of 63 routes hit · 113,684 annual scheduled hours gone

Less reliable

At least once a day, 70% of drivers leave riders behind (full buses) and 91% run late

RIPTAdeath spiral

Where the four-prong plan intervenes

Safety + Workforce stability

breaks less reliable: transit ambassadors, better schedules and breaks

Increased service

breaks further cuts: microtransit hubs and micro-vehicles

Strategic partnerships

breaks less revenue: employer bulk-pass deals, e.g. CVS Health

Funded with existing federal formula money and partnerships, not new state funds.

Loop as described in the management plan: “fewer riders mean less revenue, leading to further cuts, making service less reliable, and pushing riders away.” Figures from the plan, citing RIPTA, Rhode Island Current and Providence Streets Coalition. In the team’s own survey (158 respondents), 81% named service frequency the biggest problem. Matching each prong to a point on the loop is this figure’s reading of the plan.

Process Flow Diagram

Download Full Diagram & Risk Analysis (PDF)

Logic Model

ResourcesActivitiesOutputsOutcomesImpact
Workforce Stability
HR staff, scheduling systems, educational partnerships		Redesign operator schedules; form a partnership commissionRevised schedules implemented; # institutional partnershipsHigher job satisfaction; higher retentionLong-term operational stability
Safety
Safety ambassadors, training, funding		Launch Safety Ambassador Program with RIDOC# ambassadors trained and deployedIncreased rider trust and safety perceptionSystemic transformation into a trusted transit network
Access
Planning staff, GIS software, microtransit vehicles, municipal partnerships		Deploy microtransit for first/last-mile gaps; build mobility hubs# new service areas; # micro-vehicles deployedIncreased access for underserved communitiesImproved statewide connectivity
Infrastructure
Infrastructure funding, engineering staff		Upgrade rest areas and passenger amenities# stations upgradedImproved working and riding conditionsModernized, durable infrastructure

"If RIPTA leverages state funds, targeted grants, and inter-agency partnerships to redesign driver schedules, launch a Community-Based Safety Ambassador program, deploy microtransit, and upgrade infrastructure, the result is a measurably safer, more reliable transit system, and over time, a network that reliably meets Rhode Island's economic and community needs."