Rhode Island Transit Offers Landlords Free Holiday Transit Passes for Tenants

A new pilot program from the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) offers free monthly transit passes to landlords who manage multifamily buildings within a mile of transit lines to make transit more affordable to tenants and boost ridership. 

As Christopher Shea explains in Rhode Island Current, the program applies to landlords who manage at least 10 units and offers passes for December and January. “Covering the cost of the pass purchases is the remainder of a $145,000 allocation from the state’s Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council in October 2024 toward ‘growing transit ridership.’”

RIPTA is attempting to boost ridership by offering reduced fares to employers, property owners, and social service agencies that buy passes in bulk for their tenants or clients. “In May, RIPTA announced that the Omni Providence Hotel had agreed to partially subsidize fares for 216 employees who work at the hotel.”

Even as it attempts to increase ridership, the agency is making “sweeping” service cuts as part of its effort to reduce costs and avert driver layoffs as it faces a $32.6 million budget shortfall.