17 (Dyer/Pocasset)

So the 19 brought us to Walmart. But, what about its little, evil brother, the 17? Well, let’s get into that.

So both the 19 and 17 board at bus stop C at Kennedy Plaza, and they share quite a bit. What do they share? Well, let’s see. The bus leaves stop C and goes through downtown, following the same path as the 19. Even crosses the interstate and goes through US-6 twice. It also stops in Olneyville. However, that’s essentially where all the similarities end.

While the 19 continues down Plainfield St., the 17 instead goes straight down Pocasset Avenue. It was still largely urban businesses and housing as we kept going down the street. Eventually, though it became Dyer Avenue and we crossed into Cranston.

Of course, from here we passed a graveyard and a ballpark, marking the end of the 18, and a transfer point. We eventually reached Cranston Street, which was one of two transfer points with the 30 outside of downtown. The other one would be coming up soon. As we went down Dyer Avenue, we turned right onto Park Ave. However, shortly after it’d become Phenix Avenue. This happened after the intersection with Park/Phenix and Cranston St., the other transfer point for the 30. As such, we were passing through the neighborhood of Knightsville. However, we weren’t on Phenix Ave for long, as we then turned onto Atwood Ave. and deviated into Stop & Shop, marking the end of the journey.

The good: It serves a supermarket! And a half-decent one, at that! Yeah, Walmart has a lot but Stop & Shop generally is held to higher standards because, well, unions. It also coordinates with the 19 for high-frequency from Olneyville to Providence! There’s also a transfer point to the 18 as well.

The bad: I mean, if you want a faster trip into downtown, just take the 30 instead. Yeah it’s less frequent (every 50 minutes), but it runs express down US-6 and RI-10. With that, downtown traffic is just slightly more bearable.

Nearby points of interest: There’s Stop & Shop. I guess there’s also the various restaurants and businesses lining Park Avenue. As for Dyer Ave., I don’t know much. There’s also the stuff in Olneyville.

Overall, the route gets the job done. It serves areas that aren’t served (or are served hourly, e.g. by the 30 or 18). It’s nice how the Olneyville section is coordinated with the 19’s schedule for frequent service to downtown too. Ridership wasn’t bad, with a few people on my trip. 2019 stats have it at 1162 weekday passengers, which while still less than the 19’s, is still nothing to laugh at. But, if you’re in a hurry to get to downtown, just transfer to the 30 at either Park/Phenix & Cranston, or Dyer & Cranston.
Rating: 7/10