Author: chelsea

If you read the 40’s post, I mention how it interlines with the 18 and how the two neighborhoods they primarily serve (the East Side for the 40, Silver Lake and Arlington for the 18) are very different. Don’t get me wrong, the neighborhoods the 18 serves aren’t terrible by any means, but it’s still quite evident there’s major differences between the two. Let’s get into it, shall we?

To even get here, I took the 17 all the way up to Dyer Ave. and Chestnut Hill Ave., which is the 18’s terminus. Not too annoying, but certainly could be worse. (I’m looking at you, 10X and 59X!!!) So, we’re working with a route that’s called “Union Ave.”, so why doesn’t it start at Union Ave.? Well, I don’t know. Oh, the bus is here, time to get on it!

The route begins with a right turn down Chestnut Hill Avenue. Now, from here it’s largely all residential. There’s some businesses mixed in (like the florist and barber shop on Dyer Ave.) but not much else. There’s the occasional business down Laurel Hill Ave., but again it’s mostly residential. Eventually, though, we made it to Union Ave.

Eventually, we took a right down Union Ave. And down, I mean quite literally. We were at the top of a hill, and there was only one way to go. As we progressed down Union Ave., more and more businesses started coming up, mostly locally-owned. There was also a Shell, before the interchange with RI-10.

Of course, we ended up taking …a left turn down Ellery Street? Yeah, I’m confused on that one too. It’s largely houses yet again, and …another right turn down Chapin Ave.??? Okay? Eventually, though, and thankfully, we made it to Cranston Street. It was home stretch as from here, it was largely a straight shot through here, Westminster Street, and Washington Street to Kennedy Plaza, largely replicating the 31‘s routing.

From here, the bus would continue its journey as the 40 through the East Side.

The good: It’s a more direct connection to Providence for those that live along the route, without needing to walk as far. The terrain certainly wouldn’t help, especially during the winter months. The 492 people who use it on weekdays (as of 2019) probably appreciate the fact the route exists, although I don’t know stats on how many use the shared section with the 31, verseus the sections along Union and Laurel Hill Avenues.

The bad: The route doesn’t need to exist, given its location close to the 17 and 31. But, the ridership does show there is demand for such a route. It’s also weirdly indirect, being my biggest complaint about the route. Plus, there’s no Sunday service for some reason.

Nearby points of interest: A couple of parks at Dyer Ave., a few businesses along Laurel Hill and Union Ave’s., plus the Cranston St. Armory.

Overall, it’s not a bad route. It doesn’t need to exist, but the existence is still justified by the fact just under 500 people use it each day. And, I’m sure for many during the winter, when the hills are slippery, this route is more of a lifeline than ever to save them from walking as far. Plus, unlike the 40, it runs on weekends….though on Saturdays only.

Rating: 7/10

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

Oh boy, this one’s a big one. Literally. The 95X is, as of 5/23/22, the longest RIPTA route by distance travelled. The 14’s Narragansett branch has the longest runtime, but this one is the longest by mere distance, and with good reason. This route is the byproduct of demand for a Providence-Westerly express bus.

So, after boarding the bus and taking off, we immediately went express like most express routes do. From here, we booked it down through I-95, passing various things. As this happened, the exit numbers kept decreasing slowly but surely, as more routes parted ways from this shared segment. The 14 left us at exit 15, the QX joined briefly at exit 14, the 66 deviates at exits 13 and 12, the 12X leaves at exit 10, while the 65X and 66 leave for good at exit 9 to the left. From here, the 95X was the last man standing and it’d still be a long way until, what’s this? A deviation?! Yes, we deviated off at Exit 7 and took a left towards the aptly-named “Exit 7” Park & Ride lot. This could also be a transfer point for the new route 23, but current routing doesn’t allow for easy transfers. We then got back on the interstate and kept pressing on. We passed Hopkins Hill Road at exit 6A, Nooseneck Hill Road at exit 6, RI-102 at exits 5B and 5A when eventually after going for what seemed like forever through woods, we made it to deviation #2. Park & Ride in Hope Valley, and apparently the 301 Rural Ride’s terminus is nearby. From here, we banged a u-ey in the park & ride lot and went back on I-95. It was still woodlands until we reached exit 1. From here, we would have deviated off into the park & ride lot, but the driver opted not to after I and the other guy confirmed we weren’t going there, presumably to save time.

From here, we did NOT get back on the interstate. Instead, we kept going down Nooseneck Hill Road (same one as Exit 6!) The surroundings became more suburban in nature as we passed through Ashaway Village. It was quite a long ride still as we inched closer towards Westerly. Eventually, we did cross the Pawcatuck River into Westerly, but it was largely woodlands. Fortunately, it didn’t last too terribly long as we eventually reached High Street. From here, it was a straight shot, over the N.E. Corridor, and a right onto Railroad Ave. and we pulled into Westerly Station. Weirdly enough, the announcement didn’t acknowledge Amtrak’s presence, like how the Interlink’s announcement doesn’t mention the MBTA.

The good: It serves as a direct link to an otherwise unserved town. Seriously, why does a town as big as Westerly not have any transit? It also serves a number of park & ride lots right off I-95 that otherwise would have no service.

The bad: It’s infrequent. Like, it’s the only link Westerly has to the outside world save for Flex. And that, too, is infrequent. It also takes a really long time to get to Providence from here (1 hour by bus!), while the N.E. Regional costs $8 and can get you there in about 30 minutes. Furthermore, there’s only one P.M. inbound trip, which if you don’t take to leave, you better have a N.E. Regional ticket ready.

Nearby points of interest: Walmart is about a mile from the West Greenwich P&R lot. There’s also Providence and Westerly!

Overall, the route exists with good reason. While a regularly-running Narragansett/Westerly link would be better, this will have to do for now. Furthermore, it’s nice that it serves a bunch of park & ride lots that are otherwise in the middle of nowhere. It’s not exactly “scenic” though, and if you’re taking a bus to Westerly at 2pm, you better have an Amtrak ticket ready to return. Speaking of which, my 2pm trip had about 4 other people total, while the route typically nets about 90 people each weekday, being average for an express route. It’s just a shame that RIPTA basically did Westerly dirty with regards to transit, and I hope some day there’s a less convoluted way of getting in and out, because it’s really a nice town with a nice downtown and beaches.

Rating: 7/10

So, for linking the West Bay to Newport, there’s not many frequent options. There’s the Newport branch of the 14, which I’ve taken a look at already, and that only comes by every 2 hours on weekdays, but every hour (mostly) on weekends. But that’s between downtown Providence and Newport, via Jefferson Boulevard and US-1. What if you wanted to get to Newport from URI, though? Meet the 64.

So the route leaves the Visitor’s Center and pulls into a side street. From here, we kept going up Third Street, until we took a right onto Admiral Kalbfus Road and went 3/4 of the way through a roundabout. From here, things got a bit crazy with deviations. If anything, I’d count this as a double deviation. So, we went the 3/4…..to serve Newport Towne Center at Stop & Shop and Walmart, and then went further up Coddington Highway to deviate into CCRI’s Newport campus. Then we went all the way down, 3/4 of the way around again, and then started an express (tolled!) section on RI-138. From here, we stayed in the right lane and got on the Newport Bridge and crossed into Jamestown. Unfortunately, due to the poor weather, the views weren’t as great as when I did my 14 Newport post. However, we largely went the same path, just in reverse this time. That included going by the toll plaza, past what looked like some McMansions, the downtown area of Jamestown, and back up North Road onto RI-138. From here, we were on the Jamestown bridge after one exit. The express was short-lived, as eventually we made another deviation – this time into the US-1A park & ride lot. Of course, unlike when I did the 14, noone got on here.

From here, it was a straight shot down Boston Neck Road, as we went through wilderness upon wilderness. We eventually reached a red light that we turned left at, to deviate into URI’s Bay Campus. Noone got on here either, so we went back around and went straight at Bridgetown Road. We eventually reached another park & ride lot, this time at the intersection of Bridgetown Road, US-1, and RI-138 at the Hannah Robinson Tower. Don’t ask me what’s up with the tower, though, as I don’t know.

From here, it was basically a straight shot to ….the train station??? Yeah, the route doesn’t terminate at URI but rather Kingston Station. It’s mostly woodlands from here until URI, with some houses and businesses mixed in along with other college-related stuff. Eventually we deviated into URI to serve the bus stop at Memorial Union, at which point the driver asked me and the other guy if we wanted to get off. I looked at the other guy and said “Nah, I’m heading to the train station.” and the other said “Yeah, me too.” Guess the driver usually has someone getting off at URI. We went down Lower College Road and took a right back onto Kingstown Road. From here, it was a straight shot to the train station, as it was the end of the route.

The good: It links Kingston Station with Newport via URI! It’s also scenic.

The bad: …except this thing never comes. It’s got lackluster scheduling (every 1hr15 on weekdays, and every 2 hours on Saturdays, and no Sunday service!) and an insane amount of deviations. Now, I can see the appeal of a one-seat ride to Walmart or Stop & Shop, but who wants to wait however long for the return trip to URI or Jamestown? And if it’s Walmart, why not just take the 66 to Wickford Junction and walk? Now, I get there’s the whole “what if you can’t walk?” argument though, and that’s understandable. But like, 1 hour and 15 one way is a bit much to wait for the next bus. If you’re trying to get to Newport from Jamestown for a connection to either the 60, 63, 67, or 68, just take the 14 instead as it’s more direct.

Nearby points of interest: Kingston/URI Train Station, as well as URI itself. There’s Jamestown, and the various deviations in Newport. Plus, the bus connections at the train station and URI, along with the ones in Newport.

Overall, it’s a bit of a doozy to ride, but it’s a necessary connection. My biggest gripe is the fact it never comes. Try, every hour and 15 minutes, with 2 hour service on Saturdays, and no service on Sundays. Do people just not travel on Sundays? The ridership figures reflect the poor service too. How about, 158 people average weekdays in 2019? Yikes. I’m sure if it ran more directly (and maybe express past the park & ride? Dunno how many people use that as an alternative to URI parking) it’d likely be higher. And, why does it need the deviation sensation in Newport?! Is it trying to be the 63?!
Rating: 4/10

So you want an “express” trip into Newport? Well, let’s see… Hmm… Well, the 14 needs to serve Jamestown and North Kingstown. The 60 can’t go express because of the East Bay’s roads. The 64 already takes forever as-is to get to Kingston Station. Oh, what’s this? We have an interstate and a nearby city that could easily be connected to RIPTA? Let’s do that instead! And thus, the 24X (aka the 24L) was born.

The route boards at stop X in Kennedy Plaza, like all other expresses. However, if you’re using Wave, it’s special as it costs $4 to ride, rather than the standard $2. However, it still (to my awareness) costs $2 if you feed cash into the farebox. With the administrative stuff away, we depart and turn onto Dorrance Street. However, unlike the local routes that serve this street, we don’t have any stops here. Well, I lied. There’s one, being at the intersection of Point & Eddy Streets. From here, we turned right onto South Water Street and got on the interstate. And away we go! From here, it was pure interstate for quite a while, as we went through East Providence, Seekonk, Rehoboth, and Swansea. Eventually though, we made a deviation into the Somerset Park & Ride lot! To my awareness, though, only RIPTA and I think Peter Pan serves the lot. We then pulled out and got back on the interstate and kept going towards Fall River, and we got on the Braga Bridge and HOLY CRAP WE’RE SO HIGH UP! But that was short-lived as after we crossed the Commuter Rail tracks, we went under City Hall and made our second deviation into the Pettine Transit Center, SRTA’s Fall River hub.

After parking in one of the spots and waiting a little bit, the driver kicked the bus into reverse, honked the horn a bit to alert oncoming traffic, and hailed Mary to pull out. Thankfully, we didn’t hit anyone or anything, but it was a bit scary. This wasn’t the driver’s fault either, as that’s how the SRTA hub was designed. From there, we got back on the interstate, and soon enough we were on MA-24 (and soon, RI-24) and eventually we crossed back into Rhode Island. What’s this? Another deviation?! Oh my!

Yeah, turns out we had to serve the Fish Road park & ride lot, which allows for connections with the 61X (if, for some reason, you’re inclined). But since noone got on or off here (I was the only soul on the bus other than the driver), we pressed on back onto RI-24 and HOLY CRAP THE VIEWS WOULD BE AMAZING IF IT WASN’T RAINING OUTSIDE!

However, the express section ended shortly after and we were on West Main Road. However, unlike the 60, we don’t make local stops here. Instead, we just trucked down West Main, skipping the Bay View Apartments deviation and the 63’s Oxbow and Stop & Shop deviations. However, we also didn’t stay on West Main all the way, instead turning onto Coddington Highway, passing both the Middletown RIPTA garage and CCRI’s Newport campus. We then went sorta-express again, but to get to Farewell Street. From there, we made it into the Newport Visitors Center, at the end of the last outbound run of the morning.

The good: It’s fast! That is, on outbound trips. Inbound trips often get bogged down by the perpetually clogged westbound 195. It also links two major cities via a third one that’s otherwise unserved (or not very well connected).

The bad: Inbound trips can oftentimes run in excess of 20 minutes late due to traffic on 195 that’s seemingly perpetual. Also, what’s with the $4 fare on Wave?

Nearby points of interest: Pretty much the entire RIPTA and SRTA systems, and the cities of Providence, Fall River, and Newport

Overall, it’s a great route. It really is. The concept of having a Fall River-centered route linking Providence and Newport is a great idea, and I think RIPTA executes it well with the 24L. That being said, what’s with the difference between cash and Wave fares? Now, I completely get that express routes are intended for commuters. However, I can’t help but get the feeling that this route would do well enough with non-peak service too. Maybe change to be half-hour during the morning/evening rush, with non-peak service being every two hours? Unfortunately ridership data isn’t published for this route quite yet, as it was created in 2019, so I don’t have any concrete data that would back this up. It’d at least allow for more intercity travel options. But overall, it’s a great route, and I think you (the reader) should check it out for your next trip to Newport.
Rating: 7.5/10