Rhode Island Public Transit Authority
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) provides public transportation, primarily buses, in the state of Rhode Island. The main hub of the RIPTA system is Kennedy Plaza, a large bus terminal in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. In 2020 the authority served an average of 36,776 people a day, in 36 out of 39 Rhode Island communities.[3]
RIPTA Gillig #0517 picks up customers on the #51 line at Kennedy Plaza. | |
| Founded | 1966 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 705 Elmwood Avenue Providence, Rhode Island |
| Locale | Rhode Island (statewide) |
| Service type | transit bus, paratransit, demand responsive transport, rapid transit bus (2014)[1] |
| Routes | 66 |
| Hubs | 3 (Kennedy Plaza, Newport Gateway Center, Pawtucket Transportation Center) |
| Lounge | 3 (one at each hub) |
| Fleet | 261 (fixed-route) 16 (Flex) [2] |
| Daily ridership | 36,776 (average; 2020)[3] |
| Fuel type | Diesel, Diesel-electric, CNG |
| Chief executive | Scott Avedisian |
| Website | www.ripta.com |
History Edit
RIPTA was created in 1964 by the Rhode Island General Assembly to supervise what had been a system of privately-run bus and trolley systems. RIPTA began operating buses on July 1, 1966, inheriting services provided previously by the United Transit Company. Ridership had decreased in Rhode Island after the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Although it has never returned to 1940s levels, ridership has increased slightly over the years as services have been expanded and improved upon.[4]
Routes Edit
RIPTA operates services in several categories. All services are operated from two garages: in Providence at 265 Melrose Street and Middletown at 350 Coddington Highway.
Fixed route Edit
Most of RIPTA's fixed-route bus lines are centered on three major hubs in the cities of Providence at Kennedy Plaza, Pawtucket at the Pawtucket Transit Center, and Newport at the Gateway Center. Two routes run between Providence and Newport and four routes between Providence and Pawtucket. Three routes run between Providence and Warwick Mall, where they connect with a Coventry-Warwick Mall route and a Warwick crosstown route. A single circulator route is operated in Woonsocket, where service was expanded in 2011 to allow residents, many of whom do not own cars, to reach shopping areas outside town.[5]
In November 2019, RIPTA received $8 million in federal funding to add additional hubs at the Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick and the University of Rhode Island in Kingston.[6]
R-Line Edit
The R-Line is a limited-stop "Rapid Bus" route from Cranston to Pawtucket via Providence that combines the former 11 and 99 routes. The R-Line became operational on June 21, 2014. It has many BRT style elements, like unique branding and frequent, limited stop service and traffic signal priority but runs in mixed traffic and is therefore not BRT.
Downtown Transit Connector Edit
The Downtown Transit Connector, or DTC is a transit emphasis corridor, from the Providence Station to the Hospital District. Routes 3, 4, 51, 54, 58, 62 (soon to be 66) and 72 run on this corridor providing 5 minute or better frequency on weekdays. There are stops at Kennedy Plaza, Dorrance Street, Ship Street and South Street. This corridor is BRT like, with limited stops, bus shelters with real-time information, frequent streamlined service, bus/bike lanes and traffic signal priority.
Trolley service Edit
In 1999, RIPTA introduced its trolley service, providing service using tourist trolley style replica buses manufactured by Chance Coach & Optima Bus on two downtown Providence circulator lines going north and south of Kennedy Plaza and through the East Side Trolley Tunnel, and on a number of lines running through the Newport Gateway Center in Newport.
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The East Side Trolley Tunnel, from the west end.
-
CNG trolley replica #18
Demand response/Flex service Edit
In addition to fixed-route services, RIPTA also provides Flex Service service, primarily settled around less-populated areas in the state. It serves the communities of Bristol, Burrillville, Coventry, Kingston (including the University of Rhode Island), Middletown, Narragansett, Newport, North Smithfield, Portsmouth, South Kingstown, Tiverton, West Warwick, Westerly, and Woonsocket.
Flex Service list Edit
| Line | Route |
|---|---|
| 203 | Narragansett Flex |
| 204 | Westerly Flex |
| 210 | Kingston Flex |
| 211 | Kingston Connection |
| 231 | South Aquidneck Island |
| 242 | West Warwick/Coventry Flex |
| 281 | Woonsocket Schedule Flex |
| 282 | Pascoag/Slatersville Flex |
| Hillclimber | (seasonal URI student commuter parking lot loop route) |
RIde is the demand-response service operated by RIPTA, providing primarily paratransit service throughout the service area of RIPTA. The vehicles used for both service are cutaway vans.
Fares Edit
These are the current RIPTA fares:[7]
| Base fare | Senior/disabled fare | Transfers | 1-day pass | 7-day pass | Monthly pass | Passes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.004 |
|
| $1.001 | $62 | $232 | $70 3,4 |
|
| |
| |||||||||
Active fleet Edit
Not included here are cutaway vans normally used on Flex service and RIde paratransit and demand response services. The entire fleet complies with the ADA. Except for buses 1001–1010 (trolley replicas), all buses feature bike racks. All buses are 102 inches (2.6 m) wide.
| Year | Manufacturer | Model | Fuel | Fleet numbers | In service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Gillig | Low Floor 40 feet (12 m) | Diesel | 0912–0935 | 24 |
| 2010 | Trolley Replica HEV 35 feet (11 m) | Diesel-electric hybrid | 1001–1010 | 10[11] | |
| 2010 | BRT HEV 40 feet (12 m) | 1021–1073 | 53[12] | ||
| 2010 | BRT 35 feet (11 m) | Diesel | 1081–1090 | 10 | |
| 2013 | BRT 40 feet (12 m) | 1301–1350 | 49[a] | ||
| 2016 | 1601–1642 | 42 | |||
| 2018 | Proterra | Catalyst E2 | Battery-electric[13] | 1811-1813 | 3 |
| 2019 | Gillig | BRT 40 feet (12 m) | Diesel | 1901-1933 | 33 |
| 2020 | 2001-2015 | 15 | |||
| 2020 | BRT 29 feet (8.8 m) | 2050-2058 | 9 | ||
| 2022 | NFI | XE40 | Battery-electric | 2201-2214 | 14[14] |
| Grand total of fixed-route buses: | 261 | ||||
List of Rhode Island Public Transit Authority routes Edit
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) operates a number of bus routes in Rhode Island. Most are local bus routes based out of Providence; a number of local routes are also based from Newport, Pawtucket, or Woonsocket. The agency operates six express routes to park and ride lots around the state, and one local rapid bus route. The only Rhode Island towns not served by a RIPTA bus route are Foster, Little Compton, Charlestown and New Shoreham.[15] Some rural towns, such as Glocester, Burrillville, Scituate, Richmond, West Greenwich and Tiverton, are only serviced by a single or limited-use line.[15] While two routes run through Jamestown, neither operates on Sundays.[15] The 1 Eddy/Hope/Benefit and 35 Rumford lines were the first two RIPTA routes with stops outside of Rhode Island's borders, as both routes end in a northern terminus at the South Attleboro MBTA station in Massachusetts.[16] RIPTA was required to seek federal permission before the extending the routes across state lines to South Attleboro in 2013.[16] Soon, the 32 and 34 were extended over the Massachusetts border to Seekonk Square. In August 2019, RIPTA added a third line running to Massachusetts, the 24x, an express line which includes stops in Fall River and Somerset that connect to Southeastern Regional Transit Authority lines.[17][18]
All routes serve at least one transit center or transfer point. Providence-based routes operate from Kennedy Plaza, Pawtucket-based routes operate or serve the Pawtucket Transit Center, Newport-based routes from Newport's Gateway Center, Woonsocket-based routes from Woonsocket Depot Square, Warwick based routes from CCRI's Warwick Campus, and local South County routes from URI's Kingston Campus. Some Providence routes continue through Kennedy Plaza to Providence Train Station or Hospital District as part of the Downtown Transit Connector.
| Line | Route | Transfer Centers Served |
|---|---|---|
| R-Line | Broad/North Main | Providence, Pawtucket |
| 1 | Eddy/Hope/Benefit | Providence, Pawtucket |
| 3 | Oakland Beach | Providence (DTC Route) |
| 4 | Warwick Ave | Providence (DTC Route) |
| 6 | Prairie / R. W. Zoo | Providence |
| 9X | Pascoag Chepachet Smithfield | Providence |
| 10x | North Scituate Park & Ride | Providence |
| 12x | Arctic/Rte. 117 Express Park & Ride | Providence |
| 13 | Coventry/Arctic/CCRI | CCRI Warwick |
| 14 | West Bay | Providence, CCRI Warwick, Newport |
| 16 | Bald Hill/NEIT/Quonset | CCRI Warwick |
| 17 | Dyer / Pocasset | Providence |
| 18 | Union Ave | Providence |
| 19 | Plainfield / Westminster | Providence |
| 20 | Elmwood Ave | Providence |
| 21 | Reservoir/Garden City | Providence, CCRI Warwick |
| 22 | Pontiac Ave | Providence, CCRI Warwick |
| 23 | Arctic / Crompton / Center of New England | CCRI Warwick |
| 24x | Newport/Fall River/Providence | Providence, Newport |
| 27 | Broadway / Manton | Providence |
| 28 | Broadway / Hartford | Providence |
| 29 | Kent County | CCRI Warwick |
| 30 | Arlington / Oaklawn | Providence, CCRI Warwick |
| 31 | Cranston St | Providence |
| 32 | East Providence/Wampanoag/Seekonk Square | Providence |
| 33 | Riverside | Providence |
| 34 | East Providence/Seekonk Square | Providence |
| 35 | Rumford | Providence |
| 40 | Butler/Elmgrove/Tunnel | Providence |
| 50 | Douglas Ave | Providence |
| 51 | Charles St | Providence (DTC Route) |
| 54 | Lincoln / Woonsocket | Providence, Woonsocket (DTC Route) |
| 55 | Admiral / Prov College | Providence |
| 56 | Chalkstone Ave | Providence |
| 57 | Smith St | Providence |
| 58 | Mineral Spring / N Providence | Providence (DTC Route) |
| 59x | North Smithfield/Lincoln Express Park & Ride | Providence |
| 60 | Providence / Newport | Providence, Newport |
| 61x | Tiverton/East Bay Park & Ride | Providence |
| 63 | Broadway / Middletown Shop | Newport |
| 64 | Newport / URI | Newport, University of Rhode Island |
| 65X | Wakefield Express | Providence |
| 66 | URI / Galilee | Providence, University of Rhode Island |
| 67 | Bellevue / Mansions | Newport |
| 68 | CCRI Newport/Memorial Blvd./First Beach | Newport |
| 69 | Narragansett/Galilee | University of Rhode Island |
| 71 | Broad Street / Pawtucket Ave | Pawtucket |
| 72 | Weeden / Central Falls | Providence, Pawtucket (DTC Route) |
| 73 | Fairlawn / CCRI | Pawtucket |
| 75 | Dexter / Lincoln Mall | Pawtucket |
| 76 | Central Ave | Pawtucket |
| 78 | Beverage Hill / Newport Ave | Providence, Pawtucket |
| 80 | Armistice Blvd | Pawtucket |
| 87 | Fairmount / Walnut Hill | Woonsocket |
| 92 | RIC/Federal Hill/East Side | Providence |
| 95x | Westerly Park & Ride | Providence |
| QX | Quonset Point | Providence, Pawtucket |
Relationship with Project Weber/RENEW Edit
Project Weber/RENEW focuses much of its harm reduction outreach on the RIPTA bus terminal, Kennedy Plaza. Kennedy Plaza has one of the highest rates of overdoses in Providence. In 2022, RIPTA and Providence Police were criticized by The Providence Journal for not carrying Narcan in Kennedy Plaza although The Providence Police Department has been trained and equipped to use Narcan since 2014. Dennis Bailer, the overdose prevention program director at Project Weber/RENEW, has attempted to work with RIPTA to train and assist them to respond to overdoses that had led to little response from RIPTA.[19][20]
In 2021, Project Weber/RENEW successfully pushed RIPTA to reopen its Kennedy Plaza bathrooms so that travelers could access basic sanitation in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.[21]
Notes Edit
- a.^ 1335 has been retired because of a bus fire.[citation needed]
References Edit
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2014-06-25. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ RIPTA stats from the NTD Program
- ^ a b "Facts & Figures". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ RIPTA History
- ^ Saslow, Eli (16 March 2013). "Food stamps put Rhode Island town on monthly boom-and-bust cycle". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ "RIPTA to build new mobility hubs at URI, CCRI". The Westerly Sun. Westerly, Rhode Island. November 25, 2019.
- ^ "RIPTA fares". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority.
- ^ "In the final Assembly hours, college-student bus passes are the hot topic". The Providence Journal.
- ^ Lincoln Technical Institute Signs On for RIPTA's U-PASS Program
- ^ http://m.ripta.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/0/6dedc10bbbc006853e273c3a797a66df/pdf/flex211_sep12_fin.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Green Initiatives". 20 April 2020.
- ^ "RIPTA to unveil new hybrid buses and trolley buses on October 4th". 25 September 2010.
- ^ "Reed Delivers $1.5 Million to RIPTA for New Electric Buses | U.S. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island". 22 August 2018.
- ^ "RIPTA orders 14 zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure from NFI".
- ^ a b c "RIPTA System Map" (PDF). RIPTA. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ a b LANDIS, BRUCE. "RIPTA prepares to reorganize routes to improve service". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ Daily News staff. "RIPTA adds new express service connecting Newport to Providence, Fall River". The Newport Daily News. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "24x Newport/Fall River/Providence". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ^ "After an overdose in Kennedy Plaza, advocates fault police, RIPTA for not carrying naloxone". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ^ "Advocates urge RIPTA to improve overdose response in Kennedy Plaza". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ^ "RIPTA: Kennedy Plaza bathrooms to reopen Wednesday". WPRI.com. 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
External links Edit
- RIPTA home page
- RIPTA Riders Advocacy Group