RIPTA CEO Avedisian resigns following hit-and-run charge
BY: CHRISTOPHER SHEA – APRIL 11, 2024 5:07 PM
Peter Alviti Jr., chairman of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority Board of Directors, speaks to the news media after the board emerged from closed session Thursday, April 11, 2024. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
PROVIDENCE — A week after pleading not guilty to a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge, Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) CEO Scott Avedisian has submitted his resignation to Gov. Dan McKee.
Rhode Island Public Transit Authority CEO Scott Avedisian submitted his letter of resignation to Gov. Dan McKee on Thursday, April 11, 2024. ‘I regret that the good work of the employees is being detracted by my actions,’ he wrote. (RIPTA website)
The announcement was made by RIPTA Board Chairman Peter Alviti Jr. Thursday afternoon after board members emerged from an hour-long special meeting behind closed doors.
“It has been a distinct honor and pleasure for me to work with the dedicated RIPTA staff,” Avedisian wrote in his letter of resignationdated Thursday, April 11. “Day in and day out they help move a million passengers a month to connect with school, work, and life.”
Neither Avedisian nor his attorney, former Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood, were present at Thursday’s meeting. Avedisian was in his office Thursday morning, RIPTA spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry told Rhode Island Current.
“They have been in discussions with our attorney in the last couple days,” Alviti told reporters. “And they were not part of the meeting, rather we simply discussed the letter we received of resignation.”
Alviti declined to say what kind of severance package Avedisian will receive, telling reporters that lawyers for both sides are still negotiating terms. RIPTA’s Board of Directors is scheduled to meet Tuesday, April 16, to vote or reject Avedisian’s termination, along with planning next steps for the agency.
Avedisian, who was appointed to head the state’s transit agency by former Gov. Gina Raimondo in 2018, earned $181,795. RIPTA’s Board of Directors gave Avedisan a two-year contract extension last spring.
Avedisian, 59, was charged in Kent County District Court last week with allegedly leaving the scene of a fender bender in the drive-thru at the McDonald’s on 820 Post Road in Warwick at around 6:14 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27.
According to Warwick Police, the collision between Avedisian’s RIPTA-issued black Ford SUV and the 2010 Mercedes in front of it caused the Mercedes to hit the 2013 Toyota Camry in front of it. No injuries were reported, but both drivers told police they wanted to press charges.
Avedisian is scheduled to appear in court again Thursday, April 25.
McKee’s office did not respond to request for comment on Avedisian’s departure.
Prior to his appointment as the bus agency’s CEO, Avedisian was the mayor of Warwick from 2000 to 2018. Before that, he was a city councilor from 1990 to 2000.
RI Transit Riders, an advocate group pushing for more state funding to RIPTA, said Avedisian’s involvement in the alleged hit-and run-incident is making the bus agency’s situation worse. A new leader, co-Chairs Amy Glidden and Patricia Raub said, could be just what the agency needs.
“We believe this is an opportunity to replace RIPTA’s current CEO with a nationally recognized public transit leader who can provide the transformational leadership needed to turn RIPTA into a first-class public transit agency,” they said in a joint statement Wednesday.
I regret that the good work of the employees is being detracted by my actions. Therefore, I respectfully submit my resignation and ask that the Board of Directors terminate my contract.
– Letter of resignation from Rhode Island Public Transit Authority CEO Scott Avedisian
Randall Rose, whose Kennedy Plaza Resilience Coalition had never supported Avedisian, is also looking forward to some change.
“Avedisian’s tenure is a reminder that RIPTA is constantly subjected to political interference that harms bus riders,” Rose said in a statement Wednesday evening. “We would hope that now that Avedisian’s tenure is over, RIPTA will finally be allowed to renovate Kennedy Plaza and make it functional and comfortable for the plaza’s users and the people of the city and the state, even if the sight of a well-working plaza undermines the effort to benefit wealthy real estate interests by moving the hub.”
Rose was referring to RIPTA’s plans to build a new state-of-the-art, mixed-use transit center somewhere in Providence. The agency in February was given exclusive rights for the next eight months for a 2.15-acre lot in Providence’s I-195 Redevelopment District, though RIPTA officials are eying other sites — they just won’t say how many.
Cost estimates in 2021 put the transit hub project at $77 million, a figure based on the hub being built at Dorrance and Dyer streets.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, a vocal critic of Avedisian, issued the following statement:
“Rhode Islanders deserve a robust, accessible public transit system that effectively and efficiently serves residents and visitors,” Ruggerio said. “I am hopeful that the RIPTA Board will seize the opportunity they now have to conduct a thorough search for their next CEO and bring in a true transit professional to guide the agency through the many challenges it faces.”
In his resignation letter, Avedisian called his six years at the helm of RIPTA “a distinct honor and pleasure” and thanked staff for their work.
“Day in and day out they help move a million passengers a month to connect with school, work, and life,” he wrote.
Avedisian listed a number of improvements made at RIPTA during his tenure including a charging station for electric buses, a high-frequency bus corridor running from Providence Station to Rhode Island Hospital, and the opening of a new transit center in Pawtucket.
“Regrettably, all of these initiatives are now being overshadowed by recent events,” Avedisian wrote. “I regret that the good work of the employees is being detracted by my actions. Therefore, I respectfully submit my resignation and ask that the Board of Directors terminate my contract.”
Rhode Island Transit Riders 