RIPTA Riders Should Be Represented!
Image courtesy of EcoRI
In 2016, RITR successfully advocated for the Rhode Island General Assembly to pass a bill introduced by Representative Eileen S. Naughton (D-21, Warwick) mandating that the RIPTA Board of Directors include a representative who regularly utilizes public transit.
The bill, (2016-H 7329) states that the Board must have rider representation with “at least one of the seven (7) being a regular user of fixed-route RIPTA transportation and at least one of the seven (7) being a person with a disability.”
Representative Naughton argued that without representation from an individual who knows and understands the experience of using transit, decisions made by the directors will not reflect the concerns of the people actually affected.
Governor Raimondo’s recent appointees to the Board have not been in accordance with this law. Furthermore, according to RIPTA’s 2018 Title VI report, the majority of bus riders are non-white while all of the Board members are. Therefore, the decisions and proposals of RIPTA are continually not representative of the riders in the community. The RITR are actively speaking out against this lack of representation and demand that state leaders act in accordance with the laws of the state.
Rhode Island Transit Riders 