40 (Butler/Elmgrove)

Alright, say you had to visit someone at Butler. How would you get there? Drive? Well, what if you didn’t have a car? In that case, the 40 would be the route you’d take.

Now, this route actually interlines with the 18, meaning one can get a one-seat ride from Union Ave. to Butler, and the other way around, which might feel weird given they’re drastically different neighborhoods. That’s how I did both this and the 18. However, for the purpose of both posts, I’ll be doing them separately. The 40 begins at Kennedy Plaza at bus stop I, and goes straight once the light turns green. From here, we enter the East Side tunnel and pop out at Thayer Street.

When we popped out, we took a right down Thayer Street (one-way!) and a left down Waterman Street. From here, we kept going until we reached Wayland Square, then took a left onto Wayland Street and a right onto Elmgrove Avenue. As we went down Elmgrove Ave., it was primarily McMansions and houses that are way too expensive for me to afford in a lifetime. We did pass Brown Stadium, though! Eventually, though, we took a right down Rochambeau Avenue and reached Blackstone Boulevard.

From here, it was a straight shot into Butler’s campus, as we were let off at one of the buildings. And, I must admit it’s quite a nice campus. Certainly a nice place to take a walk at. Certainly a stark contrast to the route it interlines with (the 18)!

The good: It serves the East Side! It’s also pretty much the only way into and out of Butler by transit. There’s also direct access to Brown’s football stadium, and it’s largely scenic (if you count historic McMansions as such).

The bad: I guess the biggest negative I can think of for this route is that it doesn’t run on weekends. There’s also the hourly schedule, which during the winter months can be a bit of an issue depending on how cold it is.

Nearby points of interest: The East Side! Thayer Street and Wayland Square for sure. There’s also Brown Stadium if you’re into college sports. And of course, Butler Hospital and Blackstone Boulevard.

Overall, this route isn’t all that terrible. The real drawback is the fact it doesn’t run on weekends. It’s also hourly, but the 235 weekday passengers that ride the route probably isn’t enough to justify higher frequency, and probably not enough to justify weekend service either. Although, given that Brown Stadium is along the route, I do wonder if there could be a shuttle program between Brown and Kennedy Plaza for sporting events, presumably ran by Brown solo or under a joint agreement with RIPTA. Only downside, though, is if you miss the bus at Butler, you’re going to be waiting a while.

Rating: 6.5/10