Oh boy, a Pawtucket route! I can’t wait to see where thi- Oh, it only goes to the Lincoln Mall. Neat.
Getting on the bus, we banged a u-ey up Main St. and High St, then we were off to the races. We kept onwards, down the route’s namesake, Dexter Street. Who is Dexter, anyways, and why does he have a street named after him? I digress. We went down pretty much the entirity of Central Falls, known for being the densest square mile in Rhode Island.
Enough of Central Falls, we turned onto Lonsdale Avenue and kept going up into Cumberland. It actually felt a bit rural here with the occasional house and a lot of trees. Heck, we even crossed the Blackstone River and passed a Stop & Shop. (stay tuned for the 71!)
Moving right on up Mendon Road, it still remained largely rural in feeling while being somewhat suburban. There was also quite the church. Eventually though, we banged a left across RI-116. From here, we crossed the Blackstone River again and largely went express. Well, kinda. Eventually though, we reached the end of the route at the Lincoln Mall.
The good: It’s a one-seat ride to a place that’d otherwise require a Providence transfer! That is, being the Lincoln Mall and Pawtucket.
The bad: The schedule. Why is it more frequent on weekends than on weekdays? And, furthermore, why are there three rush-hour deviations?! Never mind that, why is one of them an inbound-only deviation to Bank of America?!!? Okay, maybe the Amica and North Central deviations make sense, but that’s because they’re bidirectional! I’m sure they get some ridership, but it doesn’t help with increasing the 265 daily riders (as of 2019).
Nearby points of interest: Pawtucket and the Lincoln Mall. Also, Central Falls and Cumberland.
Overall, while it isn’t the worst, it’s definitely down there. Like, if I could change it I’d make it so that the industrial park is served before the Lincoln Mall, and give weekdays hourly frequency with a second bus. At least it isn’t the 73. And hey, at least it’s somewhat scenic!
Rating: 4.5/10
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