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. The authority serves 45,800 people a day, in 38 out of 39 Rhode Island communities.[3]

RIPTA Gillig #0517 picks up customers on the #51 line at Kennedy Plaza.
Founded1966
Headquarters705 Elmwood Avenue
Providence, Rhode Island
LocaleRhode Island (statewide)
Service typetransit bus, paratransit, demand responsive transport, rapid transit bus (2014)[1]
Routes66
Hubs3 (Kennedy Plaza, Newport Gateway Center, Pawtucket Transportation Center)
Lounge3 (one at each hub)
Fleet225 (fixed-route)
16 (Flex)
[2]
Daily ridership45,801 (2018)[3]
Fuel typeDiesel, Diesel-electric, CNG
Chief executiveScott Avedisian
Websitewww.ripta.com

History

RIPTA was created in 1964 by the Rhode Island General Assembly to supervise what had been previously 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, and although it has never returned to 1940s levels, RIPTA's ridership has increased slightly over the years as services have been expanded and improved upon.[4]

Routes

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
An R-Line bus in downtown Providence

Most of RIPTA's fixed-route bus lines are centered around 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; 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

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.

Trolley service
The East Side Trolley Tunnel, from the west end.
CNG trolley replica #18

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.

Demand response/Flex service
#0651 works the 211 Flex Service on the URI campus.
RIde #0141 in downtown Providence.

In addition to fixed route services, RIPTA also provides Flex Service service primarily settled around less-populated areas in the state, servicing 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
Line Route
203Narragansett Flex
204Westerly Flex
210Kingston Flex
211Kingston Connection
231South Aquidneck Island
242West Warwick/Coventry Flex
281Woonsocket Schedule Flex
282Pascoag/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

These are the current RIPTA fares.[7]

Base fare Senior/disabled fare Transfers 1-day pass 7-day pass Monthly pass Passes
$2.004
  • Peak: $2
  • Off-peak: $1
 $1.001 $62 $232 $70 3,4
  • e-RIPtik (10 trips): $201,3
  • 15-ride pass: $261,3
  1. The transfer fee is charged only when the base fare is paid. Passes and RIPtiks include transfers at no extra cost.
  2. These passes are sold only on RIPTA fixed-route and Flex vehicles.
  3. These passes are sold only at Kennedy Plaza and participating business.
  4. Half-price monthly passes are available only to students attending schools participating in the U-PASS program.[8][9] URI students utilizing the 211 Flex Route and/or the Hillclimber are not subject to the $2 fare[10]

Active fleet

Not included here are cutaway vans normally used on Flex service and RIde paratransit and demand response services. The entire fleet is ADA compliant. 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
2005 Gillig Low Floor 40' Diesel 0518-0549 8 (spares)
2009 0912-0935 24
2010 Trolley Replica HEV 35' Diesel-electric hybrid 1001-1010 10
2010 BRT HEV 40' 1021-1073 52
2010 BRT 35' Diesel 1081-1090 10
2013 BRT 40' 1301-1350 50
2016 1601-1642 42
2019 1901-1933 33
2018 Proterra Catalyst E2 Battery-electric[11] 3
Grand total of fixed-route buses: 225

List of Rhode Island Public Transit Authority routes

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.[12] Some rural towns, such as Glocester, Burrillville, Scituate, Richmond, West Greenwich and Tiverton, are only serviced by a single or limited-use line.[12] While two routes run through Jamestown, neither operates on Sundays.[12] 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.[13] RIPTA was required to seek federal permission before the extending the routes across state lines to South Attleboro in 2013.[13] 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.[14][15]

The transfer location listed is the primary commuting downtown transfer location(s) that the route serves; for most routes, this is the inbound terminus. Providence-based routes operate from Kennedy Plaza, Pawtucket-based routes from the Pawtucket Transit Center, Newport-based routes from Gateway Center, and Woonsocket-based routes from Woonsocket Depot Square. Two routes which do not run into any of those four cities connect with other routes at Warwick Mall.

An R-Line bus at Providence Station
A bus at Kennedy Plaza on the #51 route
A bus at Kennedy Plaza on the #54 route
A tourist trolley at Gateway Center on the #67 route
A tourist trolley at Kennedy Plaza on the #92 route
Line Route Transfer location
R-LineBroad/North MainProvidence, Pawtucket
1Eddy/Hope/BenefitProvidence, Pawtucket
3Oakland BeachProvidence
4Warwick AveProvidence
6Prairie / R. W. ZooProvidence
8Jefferson BlvdProvidence
9PascoagProvidence
10xNorth Scituate Park & RideProvidence
12xArctic/Rte. 117 Express Park & RideProvidence
13Coventry/Arctic/Warwick MallWarwick Mall
14West BayProvidence, Newport
17Dyer / PocassetProvidence
18Union AveProvidence
19Plainfield / WestminsterProvidence
20Elmwood AveProvidence
21Reservoir/Garden CityProvidence, Warwick Mall
22Pontiac AveProvidence, Warwick Mall
24xNewport/Fall River/ProvidenceProvidence, Newport
27Broadway / MantonProvidence
28Broadway / HartfordProvidence
29Kent CountyWarwick Mall
30Arlington / OaklawnProvidence, Warwick Mall
31Cranston StProvidence
32East Providence/WampanoagProvidence
33RiversideProvidence
34East ProvidenceProvidence
35RumfordProvidence
40Butler/Elmgrove/TunnelProvidence
49Camp St / Miriam HospitalProvidence
50Douglas AveProvidence
51Charles StProvidence
54Lincoln / WoonsocketProvidence, Woonsocket
55Admiral / Prov CollegeProvidence
56Chalkstone AveProvidence
57Smith StProvidence
58Mineral Spring / N ProvidenceProvidence
59xNorth Smithfield/Lincoln Express Park & RideProvidence
60Providence / NewportProvidence, Newport
61xTiverton/East Bay Park & RideProvidence
62URI/ Providence StationProvidence
63Broadway / Middletown ShopNewport
64Newport / URINewport
65XWakefield ExpressProvidence
66URI / GalileeProvidence
67Bellevue / MansionsNewport
71Broad Street / Pawtucket AvePawtucket
72Weeden / Central FallsProvidence, Pawtucket
73Fairlawn / CCRIPawtucket
75Dexter / Lincoln MallPawtucket
76Central AvePawtucket
78Beverage Hill / Newport AveProvidence, Pawtucket
80Armistice BlvdPawtucket
87Fairmount / Walnut HillWoonsocket
92RIC/Federal Hill/East SideProvidence
95xWesterly Park & RideProvidence
QXQuonset PointProvidence, Pawtucket

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-06-25. Retrieved 2014-07-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. RIPTA stats from the NTD Program
  3. "About". www.ripta.com. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  4. RIPTA History
  5. Saslow, Eli (16 March 2013). "Food stamps put Rhode Island town on monthly boom-and-bust cycle". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  6. "RIPTA to build new mobility hubs at URI, CCRI". Westerly Sun. November 25, 2019.
  7. RIPTA fares
  8. In the final Assembly hours, college-student bus passes are the hot topic | General Assembly | projo.com | The Providence Journal
  9. Lincoln Technical Institute Signs On for RIPTA's U-PASS Program
  10. http://m.ripta.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/0/6dedc10bbbc006853e273c3a797a66df/pdf/flex211_sep12_fin.pdf
  11. https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-delivers-15-million-to-ripta-for-new-electric-buses
  12. "RIPTA System Map" (PDF). RIPTA. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  13. LANDIS, BRUCE. "RIPTA prepares to reorganize routes to improve service". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  14. staff, Daily News. "RIPTA adds new express service connecting Newport to Providence, Fall River". The Newport Daily News. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  15. "24x Newport/Fall River/Providence". www.ripta.com. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
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