Modest Changes Made to Bus Routes in E.P. Under RIPTA Proposal

None of East Providence’s three RIPTA bus routes will see significant change under the proposal to rebuild bus service statewide by emphasizing service to the most riders, not the fewest.

The plan actually might create a so-called “superstop” at the Wampanog Plaza on the corner of Taunton and Pawtucket avenues – where the three bus routes overlap.

And the plan might link one of the bus routes to the MBTA train station in South Attleboro.

Less than 10 people came out Wednesday to the Barrington library to offer feedback at the first two of 12 public hearings on the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority proposal. Hearings were held at 10 am and 6 pm in the library auditorium. 

“Lack of attendance is a good thing,” said Mark Therrien, assistant general manager for planning and marketing for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. “I think it means there is little opposition to the plan.”

Changes to Route 33 in Riverside, Route 34 in center East Providence and to Route 35 in Rumford/Newport Avenue grew out of a “Comprehensive Operational Analysis” to make the most of RIPTA’s funding and wipe out deficit spending.

The only change to Route 33 involves rescheduling service at clockface headways. Weekday service would run every 30 minutes during the day and every 60 minutes in the evening.

The biggest change to Route 34 would be a discontinuation of service between the Evergreen apartments and the Citizen’s Bank Operations Center.

Route 35’s end would be at the South Attleboro train station instead of a Stop & Shop in Pawtucket under the proposall. That's the major change.

Final decisions on the plan won’t come until after the feedback from all dozen hearings are compiled and given to the board, said Therrien. Then it could take 18 months to two years to implement all the changes, he said.

“We’re not reducing the size of the system,” Therrien said. “It will be the same number of miles.”

All the changes combine options that make the public transit system easier to use, more convenient, faster and more direct, and more productive, and with no variants from the primary route, he said. 

RIPTA’s plans also call for improving hubs and opening a new one in Warwick, developing “superstops,” consolidating bus stops, operating with more regular times, spacing bus stops, and coordinating schedules. 

RIPTA also wants to develop “frequent service networks” on its most used routes with more buses that travel more often and longer each day. And it wants to extend bus service to the South Attleboro rail stop.

The only way any of the proposed routes might be changed at this point, Therrien said, is if there is significant feedback from the public hearings that sways the board. If the attendance at the Barrington hearings is any indication, East Providence’s three proposed routes will remain pretty much the same.

Click here to see the proposed RIPTA bus route plan.