RIPTA Transit Passes

 

Overview

You may elect a pre-tax payroll deduction from your biweekly earnings to purchase and pay for a Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) WAVE card (for your personal use only). WAVE is an account-based fare payment system. RIPTA credits will now be stored on a permanent, reloadable smart card, or on a mobile app on their smart device. When riders board a bus, they simply tap their WAVE card to pay the fare.

You have two options when choosing how much you want deducted you’re your paycheck and loaded onto your WAVE card:

  • Monthly Pass $70.00 per month ($35.00 each biweekly pay cycle with no deductions during two “RIPTA pay holiday” pay periods each fiscal year, and the deductions will continue until you submit a new Authorization Form for RIPTA Wave Pass Payroll Deduction canceling them).
    • Key for RIPTA Payment Schedule:
      • Employee paycheck deductions occur on all "Check Dates" except those marked "RIPTA PAY HOLIDAY"
      • "Updating Periods" are the windows of opportunity for updates to the payroll system.  The Central Payroll Office only processes RIPTA pass forms in one update period of each month
      • "RIPTA Pymnt Due" is the month during which the Office of Accounts & Control forwards the deducted funds to RIPTA
      • "Monthly Transit Effective Month" is the month the employee can use the pass for which they already paid from paycheck deductions.  For example, in FY23, deductions from paychecks for pay periods 10 and 11 are used to pay for a monthly pass that's available for use in December
  • Daily Pass $6.00 per day and you decide how many days you want (the cost will be split between the next two biweekly pay cycles on the RIPTA payment schedule after your form is received by the Office of Accounts and Control, and the deductions will continue until you submit a new Authorization Form for RIPTA Wave Pass Payroll Deduction canceling them). Daily passes are not activated until you board the bus, then provide unlimited RIPTA travel on that day. Your smart card can hold many daily passes at one time, to be activated as used.  Unused daily passes continuously rollover with no expiration date.

Purchase of RIPTA Passes/Distribution of RIPTA WAVE Cards

To purchase or to stop purchasing your RIPTA passes, please complete, sign and submit the Authorization Form for RIPTA Wave Pass Payroll Deduction to your agency’s HR/payroll office or directly to Central Payroll at Nelia.Benevides@doa.ri.gov. 

If you are purchasing RIPTA passes, once both of the biweekly deductions have occurred your WAVE card will be loaded and you will be contacted by the Office of Accounts & Control to schedule a pick up date and time. If you already have a WAVE card/account, when you receive your new WAVE card based on your most recent State payroll deductions, you can combine the balances through your account at https://wave.ripta.com/.

Please note that these passes are completely non-refundable - neither the State nor RIPTA will provide refunds after the passes have been purchased.

Questions related to the RIPTA Wave program should be referred to RIPTA customer service: