PROVIDENCE – A coalition that advocates for Rhode Island’s public transportation system today called on Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and the General Assembly to support a 2 cent increase in the state gasoline tax.

The House Finance Committee last Wednesday approved a $7.8 billion budget plan for the 2010 fiscal year, which starts July 1, that would provide $8.8 million to the cash-strapped Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) by directing proceeds from the 2-cent gas tax increase to the agency.

The House budget would raise the gas tax from 31 cents per gallon to 33 cents. RIPTA currently gets 7.25 of every 31 cents, and that would rise to 9.25 cents under the House’s proposal.

The full House is scheduled to vote on the budget Wednesday, with action to follow in the Senate. Although Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has criticized the House budget, he has not explicitly threatened to veto it.

The coalition backing the gas tax hike, the New Public Transit Alliance, argues that RIPTA has been chronically underfunded, which in turn has hurt the state economy and reduced transportation options for commuters. The agency currently has an estimated budget deficit of $9 million, or roughly 9 percent of its annual budget, The Associated Press reported.

“This is the first major increase in public transit funding that the General Assembly has proposed in years,” John Flaherty of Grow Smart Rhode Island said in a statement. “Thankfully, the House Finance Committee understands that the way to improve our economy through energy independence and economic development is by investing in our public transit system.”

Chris Wilhite, director of the Sierra Club’s Rhode Island chapter, said failing to pass the gas tax increase could mean RIPTA would have to go through with deep cuts to bus service.

“Providing Rhode Islanders with transportation choices, like public transit, helps to improve public health, reduce global warming, improve air quality, encourage safe walkable communities and protect open space, and broaden the prosperity of our urban centers,” Wilhite said.

Rhode Island had the 12th-highest state gas tax in the country as of Jan. 1, according to The Tax Foundation, a research group in Washington, D.C. At that time only seven states had gas taxes higher than 33 cents a gallon, although a number of state legislatures are currently considering increasing the tax due to budget shortfalls.

The federal gasoline tax has been 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993.