RIPTA – chelsea's corner

301 (Rural Ride, Westerly/Richmond)

Oh, brother, THIS route. I actually haven’t had the chance to ride it. Well, not until today. And this, is the last RIPTA route I actually had to ride. Meet: the 301 Rural Ride Friday Flyer.

Okay, first off, this route uses a RIde van. What the hell?! This…..is unique. Because RIde vans don’t have Wave readers (they wouldn’t – paratransit doesn’t use the standard fare system that relies on the Wave card or app), you can’t use mobile or card payment. You have to PHYSICALLY HAND $2 IN CASH TO THE BUS OPERATOR. THAT’S RIGHT – YOU HAVE TO PHYSICALLY PAY THE DRIVER!!! I genuinely have never seen anything like this before. Secondly, the driver outright asked if I was sure I wanted the 301 because nobody ever gets on in Westerly. Thirdly, as a fun tidbit, apparently I was the first ever person to board the 301 from within Westerly ever since the driver who does it started working the 301. Neat! 9 AM comes around, and we depart Westerly Station.

Eventually, we turned down a series of streets navigating through Westerly, ending near RI-78 and Dunn’s Corner and Walmart. We sat there for 5 minutes. No ons, no offs. And then, the fun began. We started HAULING ASS down Dunn’s Corner Road and into the middle of nowhere! Yeah, we made a couple of stops that got no ons or offs, but that eventually changed after we crossed into Hopkinton and made our second deviation: Saugatucket Springs!

My favorite park – the INDUSTRIAL PARK! (jkjk)

An old lady got on at Saugatucket Springs, was confused as to why it’s $2 rather than $4 (the driver explained $4 was the round-trip cost), and paid both ways at once. Then, after waiting a little more, we continued on back out towards Hopkinton Town Hall and up RI-3. In terms of scenery, it wasn’t exciting – being much of the usual woodland. This route isn’t called the Rural Ride for nothing!

We had two more boardings – an old woman and a man. The man, in particular, was surprised and a bit confused as to why I was riding the 301. He even asked me if I was homeless and I just said “nah, I’m gonna get an Uber to Kingston Station afterwards” (I did actually do this). With the last deviation done, we continued on towards Stop & Shop in Richmond, entering the village of Hope Valley, and passing through it quickly. Eventually, we reached I-95 yet again and, soon enough, the end of the route at Stop & Shop, where everyone got off to do their weekly grocery shopping.

The good: It’s a lifeline for the three people that boarded it!

The bad: The schedule is terrible – 1 and a quarter round trips a week, Fridays only, and it doesn’t run if Friday is a holiday.

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot. Westerly, maybe?

Overall, it’s an important route, yet also one that’s largely useless outside its one very specific usecase. Please, Canonchet Cliffs and Saugatucket Shores, take it off RIPTA’s hands or fund the route further! It’s a very important lifeline for the three people that regularly take it!

Rating: 3/10, 8/10 for the vibes.

With that, that concludes another bus entry. However, I’d like to dedicate this entry to someone special. Namely, I’d like to dedicate this entry to my late maternal grandfather, who instilled my interest in transit into me (though I never acted on it until relatively recently). Rest easy, and may you ferry people on the buses of the high heavens, champ…

South Attleboro (MBTA/RIPTA/GATRA)

Wait, didn’t this one get closed? Well…..about that. They actually reopened it today (as of me writing this) for limited peak-direction service. What’s it like? Actually, it’s…….actually very, VERY sad. Let’s take a look, shall we?

So, I was the first person to get off a train here, at the unholy hour of 4:30ish AM. Yep! THAT early. The station, however, is pretty bogstandard. While you don’t have a way to cross to the other side, all trains that serve this station stops on the outbound platform. The station itself is well-lit, and the mini-high has a bench for waiting. The low-level platform is fairly long, but usually only one door opens here. The tactile strip is inconsistently placed, weirdly enough. Not sure what’s up with that. There’s a decent amount of parking, a Market Basket nearby, RIPTA and GATRA buses, and even a new departure board alongside the ’80s-era red dot matrix warning signs. This feels cursed. That aside, you have Newport Avenue overhead and I-95 a stone’s throw away. As for railfanning, it’s alright, all things considered.

The good: It’s Attleboro’s relief station! Or, it would be… It’s also well-lit and in walking distance to Market Basket! At least you have RIPTA and GATRA?

The bad: This station is in a sorry state of affairs! They didn’t bother updating ANYTHING. Signage is decrepit still, there’s no crossover mechanism resulting in limited service, and ESPECIALLY the fact odds are real good this station is rendered obsolete by Attleboro and Pawtucket/Central Falls these days! Never mind that, the bus stop is a literal hike away across the parking lot! There isn’t even a designated safe spot for GATRA to pick people up, so good luck flagging a GATRA bus down, ‘lest you end up like Miles in his efforts to ride the 16 back in the day. It’s also very much NOT conducive to pedestrian access, as the platform is the sidewalk. Eww!

Nearby points of interest: GATRA can bring you to Attleboro’s town center and Emerald Square, while RIPTA can bring you to Pawtucket and Providence!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Providence)
RIPTA (1, 35)
GATRA (11, 16)

Overall, yeah, no, this is very bad. I think, this takes the cake for “shittiest NEC station I’ve reviewed so far”, and is quite possibly the worst one between Boston and New York. Yeah, sorry but not sorry! The fact it’s also limited service rather than MassDOT funding station replacement is also just bad.

Rating: 3/10

CCRI Warwick (RIPTA)

Well, THIS was unexpected! On the way to my doctor’s appointment today, I needed to pass through CCRI to change buses. And, wouldn’t ya know it, the bus terminal is OPEN now! WOOHOO!!! So, let’s take a quick look at it, shall we?

So, located on the eastern end of the campus before the parking lot, adjacent to the Bobby Hackett Theater, is where you have the bus terminal. It’s not a lot, but you have four bus stops, with the routes sorted by destination and general routing. There’s a couple of wastebaskets, and a few picnic tables presently. Shelters aren’t present yet, but from what I understand, the shelters (presumably a redesign from the standard RIPTA shelter) will be in for January ’24. There’s also a copious amount of parking, but, you also have to remember: this isn’t a park & ride, but rather a community college – and parking here is NOT a good idea, as the lot fills up quickly during academic terms (Labor Day-Christmas and Martin Luther King Day-Memorial Day). Plus, there’s talks that CCRI is planning to implement parking permits. So, if you’re not a student, tough luck. But, if you ARE a student (like I formerly was), then you’re in luck AND could theoretically park and ride here.

Now, about them bus stops. How are they sorted? Are they willy-nilly like Kennedy Plaza seemingly is? Actually….no! Each stop (presently) serves three routes, as follows:
– South County (14 and 66 southbound stops here, as does the 16)
– Providence via Warwick Mall (21, 22, and 30)
– Crosstown (13, 23, and 29)
– and Providence via I-95 (14 and 66 northbound. The 242 Flex also stops here.)

Overall, fairly easy to remember. There were some learning pains for both passengers and operators, but fortunately there were RIPTA personnel onsite to help. And, all this opened just in time for the fall semester at CCRI to start as well. Neat!

A zip-tied bus stop sign (though I’m sure something more permanent will be installed)

The good: It’s at CCRI, being a major ridership generator, so why not have a proper bus terminal? There’s amenities inside the college as well. However…

The bad: Use of said amenities inside the college are at the discretion of the college itself. Furthermore, there’s no shelter presently. It’s also not very walkable…, though, it wouldn’t be too bad if the college set aside a small amount of parking for RIPTA commuters (maybe with a special permit in coordination with RIPTA?)

Nearby points of interest: Nothing outside the college campus, but the buses can get you elsewhere!

Transit connections:
RIPTA (13, 14, 16, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 66, 242 Flex)

Overall, in spite of the lack of shelter, it’s still an upgrade in its present form, since the last stop had NOTHING at all and was just a sole shelter. You didn’t even have bus berths! So, as such, I’m giving the terminal its score on the condition of a bus shelter being installed by January ’24.

Rating: 8/10

204 Flex (Westerly, for real this time!)

Alrighty, so what do you do if you fail to catch the 95X in the early morning and can’t afford $8 for an Amtrak ticket? Why, you ride this Flex, of course! Let’s take a look.

Now, unlike my last failed attempt at riding this route (which spawned an anger-filled Karen-grade rant), I boarded the bus at Westerly Station, being one of three bus connections there. And, to be absolutely sure, I confirmed with the operator that she was going to Salt Pond Plaza (she was). So, I boarded the bus, scanned my Wave e-card, and she floored it to our first timepoint.

Oh fucking aye, it’s US-1. And yes, we went express briefly down Rte. 78.

So, after going down Oak Street and express onto Route 78, we turned down Route 1, passing by Westerly Airport, which was essentially your run of the mill stroad. Yawn. But wait, eventually we made it to our first timepoint OH COME ON!!!

Ugh, of course WAL*MART would turn up on my day off from work! Well, whatever, we deviate into Walmart, and some lady comes hobbling towards the Flex van thinking it was hers. However, the operator opens the door, informs the lady “no, the other driver is your trip, and it’s 2:11 currently.” Nevertheless, after a short dwell, we continued on and we started expressing down US-1. And it went on. And on. And on. Eventually, after about 40 minutes in the woods, we made it to the Stedman Center in South Kingstown, and after a 5 minute dwell, we continued on to Salt Pond Plaza, finishing the route.

Now, as a fun aside, there’s all sorts of weird place names down here. Of course, you have Weekapaug, Misquamicut is known for the beach, Ninigrit (DO NOT MISPRONOUNCE!!!) and Burlingame Parks, a road named Kings Factory Road, Breachway (the hell is a Breachway?), Kenyon, Carolina, Shannock, and Perryville. Who the hell is Perry, and since when did we have the northern terminus of MARC’s Penn Line?

Now, some of these can be attributed to the various Native American tribes that historically inhabited the area. However, the others? I got nothing.

Of course, we make it to the Stedman Center, and I’ll have to concede: this is a contender for the sorriest bus shelter on all of RIPTA. I just can’t help but think that. But, we stuck for a few minutes, and pressed on to Salt Pond Plaza, ending the run and marking the final scheduled RIPTA route I’ve yet to ride, ridden.

Two different bus types: a 40ft and a cutaway van!

The good: It’s important to Westerly residents and, to an extent, a lifeline! Furthermore, it serves pretty much the entire town (save for the rich NIMBY bits), so there’s that.

The bad: As I said in my anger-filled rant, if the Flex van nopes out or no-shows, you’re kinda fucked. However, to be fair to RIPTA, I should’ve also dialed ahead of time and placed a reservation, so to be fair I kinda was taking on that risk.

Nearby points of interest: Most of Westerly! Also, the Stedman Center & Salt Pond Plaza!

Rating: 3/10 (originally 2.5/10)

Yeah, not much of a rating boost now that I actually rode it, and I still stand by it being better as a supplement to a fixed route. And, with that, I’ve finally rode all RIPTA routes with a schedule attached to it.

Pawtucket/Central Falls (MBTA/RIPTA)

Wait, there’s ANOTHER MBTA opening?! Well shit, let’s look at it at the crack of dawn! I mean, if I can do the GLX where pretty much all the cards were stacked against me, I can pretty much do anything. Besides, it’s been pretty much exactly 42 years since an MBTA train last stopped here. So, let’s look at it, shall we?

So, I Ubered up to the area at around 3 AM with a 3:30 arrival. It was downpouring, so being able to take refuge under the overpass was a godsend. Speaking of which, the entire station was well lit, I almost mistook it for a sporting arena for a moment! Parking? 200 whole spaces! Add that to not one but TWO dropoff areas and a busway, and you have a decent enough bus terminal. But they had to screw up with two things: There’s no heating AND there’s no bathrooms or indoor area! Like, dammit RIDOT, why did you have to shaft RIPTA like that?! Also, engineered out bathrooms?! WHO DOES THAT?! Did I mention bus connections?! You get 10 of them. TEN! ALL the Pawtucket-area routes stop here!

Looking southbound with a very enthusiastic Miles

People from Keolis were giving out swag, including buttons, luggage tags, and umbrellas

Redundant elevators, in normal MBTA fashion

Alrighty, so the Commuter Rail section of the station itself is pretty decent. Full level boarding, Helvetica signage, an updated system map (with the South Coast extension, woohoo!), and redundant elevators that didn’t smell like urine but probably do now. There’s also departure boards, something lacking at T.F. Green and Wickford. Art is present in the form of a yarn ball, which represents the area’s historical ties to the textile industry. And, lastly, although the station has three tracks, the third track is just a freight siding that never sees passenger use, so the platform setup is more akin to New London’s in that you have a side and island, but the island is essentially just another side platform with one side blocked off.

The skeleton of the old station looms ahead…

And looking towards Providence and Wickford!

From here, we had a small gathering, mainly consisting of a few people including Dylan, Miles (stay tuned for the video on this station!), Daria, Jordan (who had to head back up to Boston shortly after returning), Zoe, and a few others whose names slip past my exhausted mind (I barely got sleep and am running on a 2hr power nap right now!), and we proceeded onwards. Initially, the plan was we’d get off at Attleboro, but instead we shifted to Mansfield. So, we took #800 out to Mansfield, got off, waited in the miserable weather, and got on #801 back to Pawtucket. By the time we got back, and we heard the “train approaching” warning going off (which, at the time, were not in the most functional of states), we saw an Acela coming through to which we gave some fanfare for being the first Amtrak train to express through. After all this, several of us left and it boiled down to six of us, including Miles, Dylan, and I, and we got breakfast at the Modern Diner, and after which everyone aside from Miles and Dylan left. Here’s that video, by the way!

Mansfield feels like the nighttime version of the first level of Tony Hawk’s Underground

The good: It’s right near the downtown of two MAJOR, and very populated cities! There hasn’t been revenue service around here since the ’80s when the old station was pretty much abandoned by the MBTA, and RIDOT finally replaced it – 17 years after building a rail yard nearby for Keolis. And, for what it’s worth, it’s decent but it’s got one MAJOR flaw that prevents it from being more than an above average station. Plus, you have all of RIPTA’s Pawtucket-area routes, and weekend service on the MBTA too! It’s hella more than Wickford! And, if this was my first impression of Rhode Island, after living in Boston or wherever else, I’d say this place would make a pretty good first impression. You also have a small commuter lot, 200 spaces, for what it’s worth.

The bad: Remember when I said there’s one major flaw? Yeah, it’s the bathrooms and lack of an indoor waiting area. Sure, the shelters could be rectified with heating, and if I remember someone from RIPTA said they’d be looking into installing heaters, but the fact RIDOT valued out bathrooms and indoor waiting areas is HORRIBLE. What were they thinking?! And it’s a major terminal for buses, too!
(POST EDIT: Apparently even the Commuter Rail part got value engineered to hell! There were plans for two additional tracks so that Amtrak trains can express, but RIDOT really said “nope!” Stuff like this is probably why the Providence Line is neutered, and that’s not considering the lack of electrified tracks in Attleboro, Warwick, and North Kingstown!)

Nearby points of interest: You’ve got Slater Mill and the various local-owned shops of Pawtucket and Central Falls! Hasbro HQ isn’t too far, either. If you’re like Miles and Jackson and enjoy diners, you’ve also got the Modern Diner, which has a streamlined design (apparently the last of its kind?!), and even that aside they have pretty decent food. Just don’t play around near the Wyatt Detention Center. A ticket machine for RIPTA and the Commuter Rail would be nice too.

Overall, it’s a very, VERY good station for what it is. Yes, it’s majorly lacking and the bathrooms are just porta-toilets (which, I don’t count), but for what it does have, it’s a pretty good station with a mix of foamer potential, bus service, WEEKEND SERVICE (*cough unlike Wickford*), and decent geography near two major town centers. And, for that, I still think it’s worthy of a high rating, but not a 9 or 10.

Rating: 7.5/10

And below are some foamer shots I got over the course of the morning!

204 Flex (Westerly)

Alrighty, so what do you do if you fail to catch the 95X in the early morning and can’t afford $8 for an Amtrak ticket? Why, you ride this Flex, of course! Let’s take a look.

WARNING: copious amounts of colorful language and caps ahead. Read at own discretion.

So after eating a calzone for lunch at a local bakery, I sit there waiting for the 204 Flex. And I wait. And wait. And wait. Eventually I see a Flex van pull in and- what???

***WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING IN REVERSE BACKING OUT OF THE PARKING LOT?!***

NO! NO! PLEASE NO! WHY ARE YOU GOING IN REVERSE, AND LEAVING THE PARKING LOT?! THERE’S SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO FUCKING RIDE THE 204 WAITING RIGHT HERE!! AND TO PROVE I’M NOT BEING A KAREN ABOUT THIS, HERE’S THE TIMEPOINTS WITH SCHEDULES.

12:15 PM!!!!!!! I WAS HERE AT 12:15 PM AND IT JUST NOPED THE FUCK OUT!

YOU CAN’T JUST NOPE THE FUCK OUT OF A BUS STOP LIKE THAT, WHEN YOU’RE LITERALLY THE ONLY WAY IN AND OUT OF WESTERLY OUTSIDE THE MORNING AND EVENING RUSH HOUR COMMUTES! THIS IS WHORE SHIT TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE, AND QUITE POSSIBLY EVEN WORSE THAN THE 54. YES, I’VE SAID IT. THIS IS EVEN WORSE THAN THE BUS ROUTE FROM HELL. AT LEAST THAT COMES REGULARLY. THIS THING ONLY COMES, AS YOU CAN SEE, THREE TIMES A DAY TOTAL, AND I WASN’T ABOUT TO FUCKING WAIT UNTIL 2:50 WITH A REAL RISK OF MISSING THE 3:40 INBOUND RUN OF THE 95X. UH, NO THANKS! LIKE, THIS SHIT IS INEXCUSABLE. I’M TALKING “WHOOPS, I ACCIDENTALLY CREATED PLUMBING ISSUES AT WALMART WITH MY COLLEAGUES” LEVELS OF INEXCUSABLE.

Now, let’s see where it WOULD go, if it showed up. From here, it’d get on US Rte. 1 and begin running express to Westerly, which takes a while with how remote it is. In between, much of the northern part of the city, along with the Walmart Supercenter, is in the Flex zone. The last timepoint (first, rather) is Westerly Station, where one can transfer to the 95X and 301.

The good: It’s a mission-critical link between Westerly and the rest of the state outside the morning/evening commutes!

The bad: IF THE FUCKING BUS DOESN’T SHOW UP, YOU’RE SCREWED.

Nearby points of interest: The Stedman Center and Salt Pond Plaza, along with Westerly primarily.

Overall, WHY IS THIS NOT A FIXED ROUTE RUNNING REGULARLY?! MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IF IT WERE, THEN NO-SHOWS WOULDN’T BE SUCH A MAJOR FUCKING ISSUE!

Rating: 2.5/10

203 Flex (Narragansett/S. Kingstown)

Alrighty, the second to last “extra” content for RIPTA: the 203 Flex. This one largely mirrors the Narragansett routes, so here we go.

So, I boarded at URI and went to Salt Pond. Not a crazy route. And, it happens this mirrored the 69 as well. So, we went down Rte. 108 through Wakefield and Peace Dale, just like the 69. There’s not really much to it since I’ve done all the routes, so I’ll talk about the zone itself. There’s four scheduled stops at Memorial Union (URI), Salt Pond, the Wakefield Mall, and the Oliver Stedman Government Complex (which houses the county courthouse, the DMV branch, upon other things). It also stops at …pretty much every beach, which the various fixed routes also do. Oh, it has weekend service!

The good: It lets you get to South County Commons and the Stedman Complex, I guess.

The bad: The area is literally covered pretty well in fixed routes, enough so to where one could reasonably make the argument that the Flex is, dare I say, unnecessary. I mean sure, South County Commons and the Stedman Complex aren’t served by fixed routes, but like, nothing says they can’t get a fixed route.

Nearby points of interest: Pretty much all of Narragansett and most of SK.

Overall, why? Just, why? I mean, at least it isn’t the 49.

Rating: 3/10

59X (North Smithfield/Lincoln Mall)

Oh boy, the final route! Is it really worth the hype of being a grand finale? Well, let’s find out. I can safely say that the weather is befitting, as it may as well be monsoon season.

Here it comes, and look at that torrential downpour!

So, the route does the Downcity Loop, with its last stop being Kennedy Plaza. From here, it immediately goes express onto I-95 northbound, where we hit quite a bit of traffic. Fortunately, most of it is from merging, and we then took the next exit onto Rte. 146 northbound. From here, it quickly became woodlands. But hey, at least we got to skip the 54’s Twin River, CCRI, and North Central deviations! Unfortunately….

What a weird-looking exit (Sherman Ave.)

We still had to deviate into the Lincoln Mall. And not the front. As we went into the mall, two announcements played. “Approaching: Lincoln Mall. Approaching: The park & ride at…Lincoln Mall.” Yeah, apparently the CinemaWorld parking lot, which neither the 54 or 75 serve, is a park & ride lot. From here, we went back on the freeway.

At this point, only two others remained on the bus. However, once we got to Park Square (after skipping Walmart), they got off and walked to Stop & Shop. Man, RIPTA and/or RIDOT oughta put a park & ride lot around here. Nevertheless, we pressed on up Smithfield Road instead of taking a right down Providence Street, going up through Union Village. Apparently there was another park & ride along this stretch, with the only stop being named “Great at 601 Great”, with the announcement saying “The park & ride at Branch Village.” No lots were to be seen, though, unless I missed it. We were near the end though, as all the rural housing and businesses passed right by. We crossed Route 146 again, now called the North Smithfield Expressway, and reached the final light. There it was, Brigido’s Market, or rather, “The park & ride at Slatersville Plaza”. It was here that I got off, with no way back aside from a $13 Uber. I’ve finally 100%’d RIPTA.

Look, a Dollar Tree! (from the 282 Flex and the 54)

The good: It’s a direct link between Slatersville, Branch, and Union Villages to Providence and Lincoln! For those using it as a park & ride (as intended), it’s also quite accessible.

The bad: If you don’t have a car or an Uber ready, and you need to get somewhere only accessible by this route, good luck. Be ready for a lot of walking. On a more serious note, what’s with the unsigned bus stop in the back side of the Lincoln Mall? Hell, even Slatersville is signed! And, where’s the “park & ride” in Branch Village? And, there should be one at Park Square, given a few people got off.

Nearby points of interest: I mean, there’s Slatersville (with no way back) and the Lincoln Mall, along with North Smithfield and Woonsocket. There’s also downtown Providence!

Overall, this route’s an important link. It’s a direct express connection between the middle of nowhere in northern RI and downtown Providence. Ridership puts it as the 2nd least used express, at 59 people daily, which today probably still holds true, as my ride had 4 others. As for giving this express a local-running counterpart up north? I’d add it as part of a fixed route version of the 282 Flex.

Rating: 4/10

…wow. I’ve finally done it. I’ve ridden every fixed RIPTA route (for now, anyways). I’ve actually done it. Now, I’d like to give some thanks, namely to Wintry, for tagging along for a couple of these posts and giving insight into various routes (e.g. the 13 going to Providence and being a hot mess historically), an anonymous friend for coming along for several of these routes, the folks on the Miles in Transit Discord (as well as anyone reading, who ISN’T from there), the operators who make the system chug along. Also, shoutout to that one Asian guy from the Miles in Transit server that Wintry and I encountered as we were doing the 16 (his username slips past my mind), and another shoutout to “what is life” from the Miles in Transit Discord for essentially sending me down this rabbit hole with the challenge of doing the 10x. But, most importantly, I’d like to thank you, the person reading this right now, for reading my content (Whether or not you enjoy, is a different story). From here, I guess I’m done with RIPTA for now, until any new fixed routes come to be (or if any change considerably enough), and when the Pawtucket train station opens up. As for future plans, I’ll probably attempt to tackle another nearby RTA next. In the interim, I’ll also be slowly hacking away at the various T stations and routes as I ride them, though admittedly I’m a bit hesitant to do the bus system knowing the redesign exists and is likely going into effect at some point in the slightly far future.

With all that, thank you, everyone.

Huh, what’s this? Huh, apparently someone suggested I do the Silver Line’s BRT stations on my next day off. Whelp, stay tuned for Silver Line Way, folks!

66X (Beach Bus: to Central Falls)

Alrighty, the second of three Beach Bus routes! This one ended up being ridden with my phone being almost dead, so I’ll have to reuse pictures for this post. Not the best way to go, but whatever. Alrighty, so the route is literally the same as the Woonsocket Beach Bus, but instead it’s supposed to skip Kennedy Plaza. It also gets off 95 in Pawtucket. It deviates off I-95 at exit 28, where it then goes to the Transit Center. From there, it follows the 75. That’s it. That’s literally the whole route.

From the Woonsocket post, a picture of a bus laying over in Galilee

From the 80, not the same street but the interstate from above

Money laundering front near the end of the route (from the 72‘s post)

The good: Direct link to Galilee from Central Falls and Pawtucket!

The bad: …it’s a bit long.

Nearby points of interest: Pawtucket, Central Falls, and the beaches of South County. Not much else.

Overall, I’ve seen better. However, this is probably the best you’ll get with a South County/Pawtucket express, albeit with a long run time. At least it’s easier to get out of Pawtucket than it is to leave Woonsocket.

Rating: 5/10

91 (Newport Ferry Shuttle)

Now, I know, this officially has no number. However, historically, it was given the number “91” and, as such, I’m going off that. I’ll probably have to update it if an actual route 91 becomes a thing.

Well, for one, the driver was clearly jamming out to B101 on the in-vehicle radio. Would I blame him? Not really. So, going from Kennedy Plaza to the ferry terminal on India Street is the goal. From here, the driver basically floored it to the Convention Center and- oh no, not the jiggling.

The 2015 model Flex vans didn’t even have this issue, or any Flex van I’ve ridden, so it’s probably just this one model. Still, it was annoying. And, holy crap, it’s got actual ridership. A party of 5 got on the bus to catch the ferry. And, they’d be here the entire time with noone else getting on. From here, we hightailed it down Empire Street and Chestnut Street, and turning left onto Point Street

Crossing the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, a quick right down South Water Street and to India Street brings us to the route’s end, at the Seastreak ferry terminal.

The bus – it’s essentially a special-wrapped modified Flex van

The good: It’s a free shuttle (that is, free @ point of use) linking downtown to the relatively isolated ferry terminal! It’s also quite comfy, which seems to be a trend with the RIPTA minibuses (like with Flex, and I presume RIde). I like these buses, I really do. And, given the current economy, it’s a great deal for those looking to leave the car behind to go to Newport. It also times well with the ferries – scheduled to arrive at the terminal 15 minutes before departure!

The bad: Even though my trip’s an outlier, not a lot of people use it. Plus, I feel like more runs could be useful, with one arriving 20 and 10 before a scheduled departure? However, there’s also free parking at the terminal which doesn’t help this shuttle’s ridership. Also, the jiggly wheelchair lift. I hate it.

Nearby points of interest: Downtown and the ferry terminal, really.

Overall, it’s not bad. I like this. I just hope more people uses it over the summer, especially given the current situation with fuel prices. If you’re ever downtown and want to ditch the car, I’d recommend this as an option for getting to Newport.

Rating: 7/10