Remember how the 19 allowed me to discover the majestic land known as Walmart? Well, now we’re riding its sister route, the 17. I wonder if it has any more amazing big box stores to discover! Oh…Stop & Shop is this route’s terminus? Weeeeeeeeeeeee…

That’s a rather nice sky in the background!

We left the Stop & Shop parking lot and turned onto Phenix Ave, with suburban businesses all around. However, the road became residential once we crossed Atwood Ave…and then there were more suburban businesses only a few blocks later at the intersection with Cranston Street (on which the 30 runs). There was also a big apartment tower over here.

That is indeed a big apartment tower.

The street became Park Ave after that, and it was still lined with those businesses as we turned onto Dyer Ave. We went over the Pocasset River, offering a brief forest break, but then the scenery got industrial. We crossed Cranston Street and the 30 again, then after a few houses, we passed by the terminus of the 18.

Some random shopping plaza.

Beyond there, Dyer Ave was a mix of basically everything – houses, businesses, and industrial buildings. As we entered Providence, the street became Pocasset Ave, and it got a lot denser. The street was lined with mostly houses and businesses now.

I don’t know why I find this picture kinda cool…

There was a brief block where it became entirely residential, but once Pocasset Ave merged left and we joined the 19 on Plainfield Street, there was a short industrial section. We went under Route 6, a highway, and right after that we entered Olneyville Square, where there were businesses all around. After travelling through the square, we merged onto Westminster Street, going under Route 10, another highway.

A mural under the highway.

We passed an elementary school, then it was another mix of dense houses and businesses. At the intersection with Cranston Street, we were joined by the 18 and the 31, and together we passed some varied buildings and crossed over I-95. We made our way to Washington Street on the other side of the highway.

Enjoy this random business, I guess!

Oh, the route map makes the downtown trip look so easy, doesn’t it? Just straight up Washington Street to Kennedy Plaza, that’s how it’s drawn. But of course we had to take the long crazy route because of course we were in a rush to get our train home!

A parking lot downtown.

Thus, we turned onto Empire Street, then Weybosset Street, passing by the Providence Performing Arts Center. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a play going on that night! The traffic was awful through downtown, even after we passed the theater! Eventually we got some speed again as the street curved around and we finally arrived at Kennedy Plaza. For the record, we did make our train, but just barely – we had to sprint to the station!

I didn’t get any pictures at Kennedy Plaza because we were running too fast, so here’s an earlier bus after we had gotten of the 18.

RIPTA Route: 17 (Dyer/Pocasset)

Ridership: The 17 is, funnily enough, the RIPTA route with the 17th highest ridership! Every weekday in 2012, it got an average of 1,377 passengers, while on Saturdays it got 730 riders. The route didn’t have Sunday service back then.

Pros: The 17 is a pretty straight corridor route that serves a bunch of dense residential areas in Providence and Cranston. It has a decent schedule, too – every half hour on weekdays, every 50 minutes on Saturdays, and every 70 minutes nights and Sundays. Now, that weekend schedule sounds bad, but you have to remember that much of this route is shared with the 19, and the two are perfectly coordinated. Thus, service on the highest-ridership section is actually double the frequency of the 17.

Cons: Can RIPTA please update its maps to show where the buses actually go downtown? I mean, that whole detour we took there nearly cost us the train! Also, a lot of the outer route is really close to the 30, which runs express and offers a much quicker ride out there.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Stop & Shop, I guess. Most of this route really isn’t that interesting at all…

Final Verdict: 8/10
The 17 is a great little route. It serves some neighborhoods that aren’t served by other routes, but also some that are – the 30 is a significantly faster ride to some of those outer areas than the 17 is. Still, that’s basically my only problem with the route. Overall, the 17 performs its job well, and has pretty frequent service on the shared portion thanks to great coordination with the 19.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

The 31 is one of RIPTA’s most frequent and well-used routes. However, more than half of it is shared with another route, the 18. The 18 is not nearly as frequent…

The bus coming into Kennedy Plaza.

Leaving Kennedy Plaza, we made our way onto Washington Street. It was downtown Providence, so the street was lined with tall buildings of various uses. After we passed the Providence Public Library, there were just a few more buildings before we crossed over I-95, effectively leaving downtown.

Crossing I-95.

After going over the highway, we made our way onto Westminster Street, going by businesses, a church, an apartment building, and the Providence Classical High School. We soon split off from the 17 and 19 by merging onto Cranston Street, which went by a park and some housing developments. There were also some businesses here and there.

A small park.

Outside of the huge elaborate Cranston Street Armory, we left the 31, starting our independent section on Chapin Ave. This was a narrow street lined with dense houses and apartments on both sides. Next, we turned onto Ellery Street, offering mostly the same scenery, plus a park. There were a few businesses as we turned onto Union Ave, which crossed over the Huntington Expressway and the Commuter Rail tracks.

Looking down a side street.

There was a bit of industry, then more dense houses and the occasional intersection with businesses. After the road went up a hill, we turned onto Laurel Hill Ave, entering Cranston. The houses along this street were bigger and further apart, and they continued as we turned onto Chestnut Hill Ave. We were only on here for a few blocks before turning onto Dyer Ave, where we reached the final stop – it was just a sign.

The bus laying over.

RIPTA Route: 18 (Union Avenue)

Ridership: In 2012, the route got 636 riders per weekday and 338 per Saturday, sticking it slightly below average for RIPTA routes. On my trip, there was a decent amount of ridership along the shared portion with the 31, but the only people who stuck around as far as the independent section got off within a few stops.

Pros: The route directly serves some dense residential areas, and it definitely seems like a good amount of people use it (RIPTA’s ridership map shows good amounts of people even at the independent stops). The schedule is also neat and clean, with half-hourly service during peak periods and hourly service middays and Saturdays.

Cons: There’s no Sunday service, but that’s not actually a huge deal – the route never strays further than around a five minute walk from other RIPTA routes. Of course, that could also be considered a con, since it shows that the route may not be necessary.

Nearby and Noteworthy: No, there’s nothing much along this route. The few businesses it does serve on the independent section (and, indeed, on the shared section) seemed pretty sketchy.

Final Verdict: 7/10
The RIPTA evaluation for the 18 uses a term that I like to say a lot: this is a niche route. It gives infrequent, direct service to neighborhoods that are very close to other routes, but it seems like it gets enough people to justify its existence. That’s good enough for me!

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

Oh boy, Beverage Hill! I’ve heard rumors that it’s a magical land full of beverages of all shapes and sizes! Orange juice, milk, soda…and some alcohol for the older folks *wink*. Well, I cannot wait to discover if these rumors are true! The 78 is our bus today, people!

The bus coming into Pawtucket.

We headed down Roosevelt Ave from the Pawtucket Transit Center, then we turned onto Main Street, crossing the Seekonk River. As the road passed through an industrial area, we turned onto the one-way Water Street, which became School Street. This residential road took us up high, offering a great view of the Seekonk River.

I tried…

The river eventually fell away behind a variety of buildings: a hospital, an apartment, and a boys and girls club. Soon, though, the street curved around to become…BEVERAGE HILL AVE! Were there the drinks all around that I had been looking forward to so much? Actually, no, it was just rather industrial. Shoot…

You let me down, Beverage Hill!

We rejoined the outbound route at Prospect Street, then Beverage Hill Ave became mostly residential (aside from one little blip of more industry). After we reached Newport Ave, we made a really strange…deviation, I guess you could call it? The route eventually runs down Newport, but before doing that, we circled a block around the back of a shopping plaza through an industrial area. It really didn’t feel necessary…

Man, this is a wasteland…

Well, we did make it to Newport Ave (entering East Providence), which was mostly lined with suburban businesses and parking lots. Near a golf course, we merged into the residential Pawtucket Ave. The road crossed over a single train track, then a large cemetery occupied one side of it.

The cemetery with some apartments behind it.

We passed by some businesses and churches, but the area was still mostly just houses. Pawtucket Ave made a few curves left and right, then we passed through that same golf course from before (it’s pretty big). We had to deviate after that, pulling into the parking lot for a little mall called Wampanoag Plaza.

The mall parking lot.

After the deviation had been completed, we headed down Taunton Ave, which was lined with more suburban businesses. Eventually we arrived at a pretty industrial area and passed through a strange intersection where Taunton Ave became Waterman Ave. However, we next turned onto John Street in order to make our way back down to Taunton Ave.

Part of that weird intersection.

The street was lined with all manners of residential buildings, businesses, religious buildings, and even East Providence City Hall. Then all of a sudden, Taunton Ave became an on-ramp, and we were heading onto I-195. This took us over the Seekonk River again, offering a great view.

Nice!

Now in Providence proper, we descended down to ground level and got off the highway at Exit 2. This took us onto South Main Street, which ran past various buildings and some kind of park…thing. Eventually we came into a really nice neighborhood with a bunch of awesome unique businesses lining the street.

The 78 used to go through the tunnel, but they rerouted it. Alas…

We went by the Rhode Island School of Design, the portal to the East Side Bus Tunnel, the First Baptist Church in America, and lots of other businesses. Next, we turned onto Steeple Street, taking us over the Providence River. Turning onto Memorial Boulevard, then Kennedy Plaza, we arrived at the main RIPTA hub.

The bus about to pick up outbound passengers.

RIPTA Route: 78 (Beverage Hill/Newport Ave)

Ridership: In 2012, the 78 got 1,000 riders per weekday, 800 per Saturday, and 300 per Sunday. That averaged out to about 20-25 riders per trip, which is about on par with what I saw on my ride. The great thing about the 78 is that it has transportation hubs on both ends, so ridership goes in both directions!

Pros: Well, for one thing, see the last sentence. Sure, no one’s gonna take this from beginning to end, but having big hubs on either end allows for great bidirectional ridership. It helps that the route serves a huge chunk of East Providence, and its schedule is decent – every 45 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, and every 90 minutes on Sundays (infrequent, but the ridership is lower).

Cons: The Sunday schedule could probably stand to be better, and I also have a problem with one section of the route: that weird one-block deviation around Newport Ave. The route only does it going inbound, and it really doesn’t serve anything that’s not within walking distance of Newport Ave. It seems like it just adds unnecessary time to the route!

Nearby and Noteworthy: There isn’t much of note along the 78’s independent section, but it does serve a really cool neighborhood on its approach into Providence. That said, it’s within easy walking distance from downtown, so I wouldn’t recommend taking the bus there.

Final Verdict: 8/10
This is a really solid route. It serves a big portion of eastern Pawtucket and East Providence, and can bring its residents to either of RIPTA’s two biggest hubs! The route is decently frequent as long as you’re not riding on Sundays, too. Yeah, that one deviation by Newport Ave is a bit weird, but the route is great aside from that.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates

RIPTA’s routes out of Pawtucket are definitely the sad stepchildren of the system. They generally get worse buses, they almost always have terrible schedules, and their ridership is often lower than the rest of the system. Does the 76 stack up to those expectations? Let’s find out.

The bus laying over.

The route actually gets a little “busway” of sorts at its terminus, although the driver refused to board anyone from it. Thus, Nathan and I got on at the end of the block, and after I had trouble buying my day pass with an overly crinkly five dollar bill, we were off. We headed down Benefit Street, then made a sharp turn around onto Central Ave, coming close to the Massachusetts state line.

A residential side street.

Central Ave was entirely lined with dense houses at first, but eventually some businesses started to come into the mix as well. There were a few churches near the intersection with Newport Ave, as well as a small school. Beyond that intersection, there were even more businesses interspersed among the houses.

It’s starting to get industrial over here!

Eventually, we turned onto Freeman Street, taking us into the parking lot for a Stop and Shop. That’s right, we were deviating! At least we picked up a few people at the store, and even had a driver switch. After that, we looped around onto George Bennett Highway, an industrial street with a railroad track running right next to it.

Micky D’s!!

After a bunch of industrial buildings (and a cemetery), we turned onto Armistice Boulevard, taking us into another residential neighborhood. Next, we turned onto North Bend Street for a block, then onto Walcott Street, via an intersection playing host to another church and a catholic school. Beyond there, the street was again residential, with bigger houses than before.

Looking down a side street with more houses.

Soon, we turned onto Underwood Street, taking us right up alongside I-95. After that we turned onto Exchange Street, which was lined with multi-storied buildings of various uses. We crossed over the Blackstone River, then turned onto Roosevelt Ave, arriving at the Pawtucket Transportation Center and finishing the rather short ride.

A very head-on view of the next bus going onto the route.

RIPTA Route: 76 (Central Ave)

Ridership: In 2012, the route was getting incredibly low ridership: 264 passengers per weekday, 191 per Saturday, and 131 per Sunday. They’ve made a lot of changes since then to increase the ridership per trip, most notably cutting Sunday service and lowering the route’s frequency. It seems these were good changes – while the route was averaging 4 riders per day on Saturdays in 2012, my ride had 10!

Pros: This is definitely a niche route, but it serves its fair share of Pawtucket. The whole route is full of dense residential neighborhoods, and though the Stop and Shop deviation didn’t get that many people back in 2012, it was the highest-ridership stop on my ride!

Cons: Man, that schedule…it’s a weird one. The route runs every hour on Saturdays, which seems like a good frequency, but then on weekdays it’s every…90 minutes? What?! Why does it run so infrequently on the days when ridership is typically higher?

Nearby and Noteworthy: Yeah, basically just Stop and Shop. There were some local businesses along the route that could be good, though.

Final Verdict: 6/10
The 76 may be short and its ridership not that great, but every 90 minutes on weekdays just seems way too infrequent. The hourly Saturday schedule definitely has the right idea! That being said, the route still serves a dense neighborhood, and this is its only direct link to Pawtucket, so I can’t fault it too much.

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates