August 15, 2016

Press Releases

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) will implement fall service changes effective Saturday, September 3, 2016.   RIPTA makes regular service adjustments three times a year in response to seasonal changes and/or passenger use.

2016 Fall Service Changes

These annual changes are major and include trip time changes, route enhancements, rescheduling for better on-time performance and some service adjustments to accommodate the start of the school year. Highlights include major service improvements in Wayland Square and East Providence, new connections to the Jewelry District and improved bus stop assignments in Kennedy Plaza.

These service changes  also include a year-round extension of Route 67 (Bellevue/Mansions/Salve Regina University) to Bellevue Avenue and Ledge Road, near the southern end of the Cliff Walk. This extension was formerly only available in the summer.

Service to the East Side of Providence from East Providence is now more frequent on Routes 32 (East Providence – Wampanoag), 33 (Riverside) and 34 (East Providence).

Service has been redesigned to operate through the East Side of Providence, servicing Brown University, RISD and Wayland Square every 15 minutes during the week.   Routes 32, 33 and 34 will be traveling through the East Side Tunnel instead of using I-195.  Routes 35 and 78, which currently use the Tunnel, will be rerouted to travel between Providence and East Providence via the highway.

Route 92 will be rerouted via the Jewelry District and the Point Street Bridge instead of using the East Side Tunnel. This change will allow direct connections to the Jewelry District from the east and west sides of Providence.

In addition, Routes 32 and 34 (East Providence/Wampanoag) have been extended to serve the Seekonk Square retail center on Rte. 6 in Seekonk.

Route 52 (Branch Ave./Bryant University) has been discontinued.  Passengers are encouraged to use improved and extended service on Route 50 (Douglas Ave.) and Route 58 (Mineral Spring/N. Providence) instead.

Kennedy Plaza Bus Stop Locations

The majority of bus routes in Kennedy Plaza will be permanently reassigned to new bus stop locations on September 3, 2016. Please remember to check the Bus Stop Map Effective September 3, 2016 for new bus stop locations; the map is available online at RIPTA.com and at the Kennedy Plaza Information Window. The changes will allow many routes with common destinations to load at the same or adjacent bus stops.

Passengers are strongly encouraged to check new schedules for how service changes may affect them.  They may also pick up the leaflet entitled Fall Service Changes Effective September 3, 2016 that is available at Kennedy Plaza; the leaflet is also viewable online.

The following routes will be affected by the fall service changes:

 R-Line Broad St/N. Main St

1 Hope/Eddy

8X Jefferson Blvd.

9X Pascoag

14 West Bay

17 Dyer/Pocasset

21 Reservoir /Garden City

27 Broadway/Manton

28 Broadway/Hartford

31 Cranston Street

32 East Providence/Wampanoag

33 Riverside

34 East Providence

35 Rumford/Newport Ave.

40 Butler/Elmgrove

50 Douglas Ave.

51 Charles St.

52 Branch Ave. /Bryant University

55 Admiral/Providence College

56 Chalkstone Avenue

57 Smith Street

58 Mineral Spring/North Providence

60 Providence /Newport

66 URI/Galilee

67 Bellevue/Salve Regina University

72 Weeden/Central Falls

73 Mineral Spring/Twin River/CCRI

78 Beverage Hill Ave. /East Providence

87 Fairmount/Walnut Hill

92 RI College/Federal Hill/East Side