RIDOT-RIPTA consolidation has been rattling around the State House for years. It wasn't a good idea when it was first proposed and it still isn't. RIPTA-RIDOT consolidation won't save the state any money and won't magically make RIPTA more organizationally coherent. Instead, just like the article says, a merger will yoke the fates of all RI transit riders to the whims of RIDOT leadership, historically a car-centric and transit-inexperienced group. I can buy that RIDOT is maybe more effective than RIPTA is pulling discretionary funding from the feds, but even then, I suspect that the skills for preparing road infrastructure grant proposals and the skills for preparing public transit grant proposals are not particularly transferable.