The board governing RIPTA voted Thursday to increase driver salaries 16.6% from a starting pay of $21.71 per hour to $25.33.
The pay raise is intended to address a driver shortage at the agency. RIPTA is short 20 drivers, and because of that, according to RIPTA CEO Scott Avedisian, is considering cutting service to 11 lines entirely, cutting or scaling back weekend service on another 12 routes, and reducing service on eight lines. The board did not vote on the cuts at Thursday’s meeting, which followed input at 12 public hearings from transit riders who pushed back strongly against the proposed service reductions.
Avedisian says he thinks the new wage, coupled with RIPTA’s benefits plan, will attract more drivers in time to stave off the cuts ahead of an upcoming board meeting in late March. He says RIPTA has an “aggressive” recruitment strategy planned.
“We wanna let people know we’re in the mix and we’re competitive with other groups now. It’s a great place to be right now,” said Avedisian.
The new pay will be backdated through Feb. 17 for current drivers. The new wage scale also comes with raises for drivers who stay at RIPTA. Drivers who spend more than a year at the agency will see a raise from $21.71 per hour to $26.73 per hour, and those who spend more than two years at the agency will be bumped up to $28.14.
The salaries are likely to stay in place at least through June of 2025, when the union representing RIPTA workers and the agency begin their next round of union contract negotiations.
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