Major service cuts could be coming to RIPTA. Here's what would change.
Faced with a driver shortage and budget shortfall, the Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority is proposing a slew of service cuts and other changes.
Bus riders and local officials have been speaking out against the proposed changes at public hearings for the past two weeks, but RIPTA may not have much of a choice: The transit agency faces an $18-million budget deficit for the coming fiscal year.
Here's a look at what would change — including routes that would actually see improved bus service.
Routes where trip frequency or number of trips would increase
Route 51 (Charles St./Twin River/CCRI): Connects Providence and CCRI's Lincoln campus.
Route 54 (Lincoln/Woonsocket): Connects Providence, Lincoln and Woonsocket.
Route 72 (Weeden/Central Falls): Connects Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls.
Route 92 (East Side/Federal Hill/RI College): Runs from Fox Point to Rhode Island College.
Routes that would be eliminated
Route QX (Quonset Express): Picks up riders in Pawtucket, Providence and Cranston and delivers them to a number of major employers in Quonset.
Route 10x (North Scituate Park-n-Ride): Connects Foster and Scituate to Providence, and is currently the only bus service in those two rural towns.
Route 12x (Arctic/117 Express Park-n-Ride): Brings commuters to Providence from the West Warwick village of Arctic and the park-and-ride at Route 117 near Interstate 95.
Route 23 (Arctic/Crompton/Centre of NE): Runs through Coventry and West Warwick, ending at CCRI's Warwick campus.
Route 59x (North Smithfield/Lincoln Mall): Picks up commuters in North Smithfield and Lincoln and delivers them to downtown Providence.
Route 61x (Tiverton/East Bay Park-n-Ride): Currently the only bus route serving Tiverton. Makes stops in Portsmouth, Bristol, Warren and Barrington on the way to Providence.
Route 68 (CCRI Newport/Memorial Blvd./First Beach): Connects the North End of Newport to the city's downtown and First Beach. Last summer, free service was sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island.
Route 73 (Mineral Spring/Twin River/CCRI): Runs between the Pawtucket transit center, Twin River Casino, and CCRI's Lincoln campus, with stops along Mineral Spring Avenue.
Route 76 (Central Ave.): Runs the width of Pawtucket, from the new transit center out to the Massachusetts line.
Route 80 (Armistice Blvd.): Runs from Slater Memorial Park in Pawtucket to the new transit center, connecting several neighborhoods and stopping at Memorial Hospital.
Route 88 (Simmons Village Service): Runs between the affordable housing complex at Simmons Village in Johnston and the Wal-Mart on Plainfield Pike in Cranston, where residents can board the Route 19 bus to Providence.
Routes that would undergo multiple changes
Route 6 (Prairie Ave./CCRI/RW Zoo): Connects Elmwood and South Providence with downtown. Would no longer stop at the Colony House apartments in Elmwood, and all weekend service would be eliminated. The frequency of weekday trips would change from 30 to 60 minutes.
Route 16 (Bald Hill /New England Tech): Runs the length of Bald Hill Road, starting at the Warwick Mall. Would no longer run between New England Tech and Quonset, which would also eliminate the stop on Main Street in East Greenwich. Sunday service would end, and bus frequency would go from 60 minutes to 70 minutes.
Route 18 (Union Ave.): Runs from Cranston to Silver Lake and the West End of Providence, ending downtown. Bus frequency would go from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, and Saturday service would be eliminated.
Route 58 (Mineral Spring/North Providence): Runs between the hospital district in Providence and Smithfield, with stops in the north end of Providence and several North Providence neighborhoods. Saturday service would be eliminated, as would one trip fom Mineral Spring Avenue to Route 146.
Route 64 (Newport/URI/Kingston Station): Runs from downtown Newport to URI's Kingston campus and the Amtrak station, with stops at the Navy Base, CCRI's Newport campus and in Jamestown Saturday service would be eliminated, and the route would no longer service URI's Bay Campus and Boston Neck Road.
Other routes where certain segments would be eliminated
Route 14 (West Bay): Saturday service between North Kingstown and Narragansett would be discontinued.
Other routes where Sunday service would be eliminated
Route 4 (Warwick Ave./West Shore): Runs from downtown Providence to Pawtuxet Village, Conimicut and Warwick Neck.
Route 71 (Broad St./Central Falls): Runs the length of Pawtucket, Central Falls and Valley Falls.
Route 69 (URI/Galilee): Connects URI's Kingston campus to Wakefield, Peace Dale and the Block Island Ferry docks.
Other routes where all weekend service would be eliminated
Route 13 (Coventry/Arctic/CCRI): Stops in a number of neighborhoods in Coventry and West Warwick, ending at CCRI's Warwick campus.
Route 29 (CCRI Warwick/Conimicut): Runs with width of Warwick from Bald Hill Road to Conimicut, stopping in Apponaug and at Kent Hospital.
Route 30 (Arlington/Oaklawn): Runs along Cranston Street and Oaklawn Avenue in Cranston, starting at Kennedy Plaza and ending at CCRI's Warwick campus.
Route 75 (Dexter/Lincoln Mall): Brings riders from Lincoln and Cumberland to the new Pawtucket transit center.
Other routes that would have fewer or less frequent trips
Route 6 (Prairie Ave./CCRI/RW Zoo): Frequency would change from 30 to 60 minutes.
Route 9x (Pascoag Express): Connects Burrillville, Glocester, Smithfield, and Johnston with downtown Providence. The number of daily trips would be cut in half.
Route 21 (Reservoir/Malls/CCRI): Connects Providence, Garden City, and Warwick. Saturday frequency would change from 40 to 50 minutes.
Route 65x (Wakefield Express): Brings commuters from Narragansett, Wakefield and Wickford to Providence. There would be only two trips at peak times, rather than three.
Route 87 (Fairmount/Walnut Hill): Runs the width of Woonsocket. Saturday and Sunday frequency would change from 40 to 80 minutes.
Route 95x (Westerly Express): Connects Westerly, Richmond and West Greenwich to downtown Providence. Number of trips would be cut in half.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIPTA service cuts: Routes that would be eliminated, cut service
