Oh boy, another shuttle service from RIPTA! Now, like the Walmart shuttle I touched on, it’s limited service. However, this one runs Mondays-Fridays, instead of just Thursdays.
This route is very straightforward, compared to the Walmart shuttle. It goes from Walmart to Simmonsville Village. When does the bus leave either end? 9:15 and 2:15 for Simmonsville, and 9:27, 2:00, and 2:27 for Walmart. Mind you, it’s not exactly “walkable” to get to Walmart from Simmonsville, or to Atwood Avenue. Like yeah, sidewalks exist, but if you’re trying to get to Simmonsville via RIPTA at any other time (e.g. the night, say you work 9-5), or the other way around, good luck. Atwood Ave. doesn’t have any bus service, and the nearest bus stop I can find is just outside the McDonald’s in the Walmart plaza. This involves crossing not just Plainfield Pike, but also possibly a freeway interchange and a busy plaza access road too. Hell, it used to be a deviation for the 19 back when the 19 tried to be an Atwood Ave. crosstown, why isn’t there an Atwood Ave. crosstown route doing the same job now, but with the Walmart deviation?!
The good: It serves Simmonsville, I guess.
The bad: Service is very limited, in an unwalkable area. Please, Picerne, or the Town of Johnston, take this thing off RIPTA’s hands! Or, RIPTA, please make this a deviation for an Atwood Ave. crosstown route! Hell, add Walmart to the deviation to make it worthwhile. Basically, anything to give this regular service. Lastly, why is this numbered as route 16, when there’s literally a route 16 expected to go into service later this month (June’22)?!
Nearby points of interest: A bunch of old people, I guess.
Overall, just, just no. I mean, I’m sure there’s someone who uses it, but not everyone has errands that they can leave at 9AM for, and be back at Walmart by 2:27. Plus, I’m sure RIPTA has financial incentives to ditch this entirely. The worst part is, for everyone who uses it it’s a lifeline to the outside world.
Rating: 10/10 for the concept, 2/10 for the execution.
