Rhode Island Public Transit Authority

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) provides public transportation, primarily buses, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The main hub of the RIPTA system is Kennedy Plaza, a large bus terminal in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Average daily ridership as of the second quarter of 2024 is 43,400.^[2] The agency operates 59 fixed-route bus routes and 7 demand-responsive routes, together serving 37 out of 39 Rhode Island municipalities.^[1]

A route 51 bus at Kennedy Plaza in 2008
Founded	1966
Headquarters	705 Elmwood Avenue Providence, Rhode Island united states
Locale	Rhode Island (statewide)
Service type	transit bus, paratransit, demand responsive transport
Routes	59 fixed-route 7 demand-response
Hubs	3 (Kennedy Plaza, Newport Gateway Center, Pawtucket/Central Falls station)
Lounge	3 (one at each hub)
Fleet	229 buses, 13 vans, 72 paratransit vans[1]
Daily ridership	43,400 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[2]
Annual ridership	12,005,200 (2023)[3]
Fuel type	Diesel, Diesel-electric, CNG, Battery-electric
Chief executive	Christopher Durand (interim)
Website	www.ripta.com

Service

The agency operates 59 fixed-route bus routes and 7 demand-responsive routes, together serving 37 out of 39 Rhode Island municipalities.^[1] Paratransit service is branded RIde with a service area corresponding to that of non-express bus routes.^[4] RIPTA operates a fleet of 229 buses, 13 cutaway vans for Flex services, and 72 paratransit vans. They are maintained at two garages in Providence and one in Newport.^[1]

Fares for fixed-route and Flex trips are $2, with day and monthly passes available. Reduced fares are available for people over 65 and with disabilities. Fares can be paid with cash or with Wave smart card or mobile app, or RIde fares are $4.^[5]

Routes

An R-Line bus in downtown Providence

RIPTA operates 59 year-round bus routes: 50 local routes, one rapid route, and eight limited-service express routes. Most of RIPTA's fixed-route bus lines are centered on three major hubs: Kennedy Plaza in Providence, Pawtucket/Central Falls station in Pawtucket, and Gateway Center in Newport.

The R-Line is a limited-stop "Rapid Bus" route between Cranston and Pawtucket via Providence. It has some bus rapid transit (BRT) characteristics, including frequent service and transit signal priority, but runs in mixed traffic without dedicated lanes. Nine routes combine to provide five-minute-or-better headways in the Downtown Transit Connector between Providence station and the Hospital District. This corridor has BRT elements including limited stops, bus shelters with real-time information, bus/bike lanes, and signal priority.^[6]

In addition to fixed-route services, RIPTA also provides Flex Service service, primarily settled around less populated areas in the state. These demand-responsive routes have fixed schedules for certain stops, but allow passengers to reserve trips within certain geographic areas.^[7] RIPTA operates special services to connect with the seasonal Providence–Newport ferry, to provide seasonal access to South County beaches, and to serve Providence Public School District high schools.

List of routes

Number	Route	Link
R-Line	Broad/North Main	Link
1	Eddy/Hope/Benefit	Link
3	Oakland Beach	Link
4	Warwick Neck	Link
6	Prairie / Roger Williams Park Zoo	Link
9x	Pascoag Park-n-Ride	Link
10x	North Scituate Park-n-Ride	Link
12x	Arctic/117 Express Park-n-Ride	Link
13	Coventry/Arctic/CCRI	Link
14	West Bay	Link
16	Bald Hill/NEIT/Quonset	Link
17	Dyer/Pocasset	Link
18	Union Ave	Link
19	Plainfield/Westminster	Link
20	Elmwood Ave/T.F. Green Airport	Link
21	Reservoir/Garden City/CCRI	Link
22	Pontiac Ave	Link
23	Arctic/Crompton/Centre of New England	Link
24L	Newport/Fall River/Providence	Link
27	Broadway/Manton	Link
28	Broadway/Hartford	Link
29	CCRI Warwick/Conimicut	Link
30	Arlington/Oaklawn	Link
31	Cranston St	Link
32	East Providence/Wampanoag/Seekonk Square	Link
33	Riverside	Link
34	East Providence/Seekonk Square	Link
35	Rumford/Newport Ave	Link
40	Butler/Elmgrove	Link
50	Douglas Ave/Bryant University	Link
51	Charles St/Twin River/CCRI	Link
54	Lincoln/Woonsocket	Link
55	Admiral/Providence College	Link
56	Chalkstone Ave	Link
57	Smith St	Link
58	Mineral Spring/North Providence	Link
59x	North Smithfield/Lincoln Mall Park-n-Ride	Link
60	Providence/Newport	Link
61x	Tiverton/East Bay Park-n-Ride	Link
63	Broadway/Middletown Shops	Link
64	Newport/URI Kingston	Link
65X	Wakefield Express	Link
66	URI/CCRI Warwick/Providence	Link
67	Bellevue/Salve Regina Univ.	Link
68	CCRI NPT/Mem. Blvd./First Beach	Link
69	Narragansett/Galilee	Link
71	Broad Street/Pawtucket Ave	Link
72	Weeden/Central Falls	Link
73	Mineral Spring/Twin River/CCRI	Link
75	Dexter/Lincoln Mall	Link
76	Central Ave	Link
78	Beverage Hill Ave/East Providence	Link
80	Armistice Blvd	Link
87	Fairmount/Walnut Hill	Link
88	Simmons Village Service
89	Walmart Cranston
92	RI College/Federal Hill/East Side	Link
95x	Westerly Park-n-Ride	Link
203	Narragansett Flex	Link
204	Westerly Flex	Link
231	South Aquidneck Flex	Link
242	West Warwick/Coventry Flex	Link
281	Woonsocket/Manville Flex	Link
282	Pascoag/Slatersville Flex	Link
301	Westerly/Hope Valley Rural Ride
QX	Quonset Point	Link

History

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 (formerly the Rhode Island Company.^[8] Woonsocket local service was expanded in 2011 to allow residents, many of whom do not own cars, to reach shopping areas outside town.^[9] R-Line service began on June 21, 2014.

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.^[10] RIPTA was required to seek federal permission before the extending the routes across state lines to South Attleboro in 2013.^[10] 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.^[11][12]

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.^[13]

References

1. "Facts & Figures". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
2. "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
3. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
4. "RIde Paratransit Program". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
5. "Fares". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
6. "Downtown Transit Connector". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
7. "Flex". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
8. RIPTA History
9. Saslow, Eli (16 March 2013). "Food stamps put Rhode Island town on monthly boom-and-bust cycle". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
10. LANDIS, BRUCE. "RIPTA prepares to reorganize routes to improve service". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
11. Daily News staff. "RIPTA adds new express service connecting Newport to Providence, Fall River". The Newport Daily News. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
12. "24x Newport/Fall River/Providence". Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
13. "RIPTA to build new mobility hubs at URI, CCRI". The Westerly Sun. Westerly, Rhode Island. November 25, 2019.

External links

Media related to Rhode Island Public Transit Authority at Wikimedia Commons

• RIPTA home page