Why don't more people use RIPTA?

[Cotuit]

I ain't riding those buses, they keep bursting into flames and having their wheels fall off.

[MapmanNo1]

I ain't riding those buses, they keep bursting into flames and having their wheels fall off.

I did the Chinatown bus from NYC to Baltimore. Let me tell you, it's an experience. It's a challenge to find the bus along the streets under the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown...I got the last seat! Then, the bus dropped off at a gas station in Baltimore's port/industrial area, miles from downtown, in the middle of the night. Yikes!

Sketchy? Sure. Unsafe? Eh, maybe. Cheap? Definitely. Popular? You bet.

[Frankie811]

As of today, RIPTA has switched to their Winter schedule.

[DavidSegal]

Cool stat that I hadn't seen before... we're #8:

List of U.S. cities with most pedestrian commuters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of United States cities of 100,000+ inhabitants with the 50 highest rates of pedestrian commuting, according to data from the 2000 Census. The Census measured the percentage of commuters who walk to work, as opposed to taking public transit, driving an automobile, bicycle, boat, or some other means.

1. Cambridge, Massachusetts 25.76%

2. Ann Arbor, Michigan 16.52%

3. Berkeley, California 15.99%

4. New Haven, Connecticut 14.0%

5. Columbia, South Carolina 13.78%

6. Provo, Utah 13.39%

7. Boston, Massachusetts 13.36%

8. PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND 12.56%

9. Washington, D.C. 12.27%

10. Madison, Wisconsin 10.99%

11. New York, New York 10.72%

12. Syracuse, New York 10.31%

13. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 10.02%

14. San Francisco, California 9.82%

15. Wichita Falls, Texas 9.29%

16. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 9.22%

17. Jersey City, New Jersey 8.17%

18. Newark, New Jersey 8.03%

19. Seattle, Washington 7.72%

20. Allentown, Pennsylvania 7.55%

[mr2448]

Cool stat that I hadn't seen before... we're #8:

List of U.S. cities with most pedestrian commuters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of United States cities of 100,000+ inhabitants with the 50 highest rates of pedestrian commuting, according to data from the 2000 Census. The Census measured the percentage of commuters who walk to work, as opposed to taking public transit, driving an automobile, bicycle, boat, or some other means.

1. Cambridge, Massachusetts 25.76%

2. Ann Arbor, Michigan 16.52%

3. Berkeley, California 15.99%

4. New Haven, Connecticut 14.0%

5. Columbia, South Carolina 13.78%

6. Provo, Utah 13.39%

7. Boston, Massachusetts 13.36%

8. PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND 12.56%

9. Washington, D.C. 12.27%

10. Madison, Wisconsin 10.99%

11. New York, New York 10.72%

12. Syracuse, New York 10.31%

13. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 10.02%

14. San Francisco, California 9.82%

15. Wichita Falls, Texas 9.29%

16. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 9.22%

17. Jersey City, New Jersey 8.17%

18. Newark, New Jersey 8.03%

19. Seattle, Washington 7.72%

20. Allentown, Pennsylvania 7.55%

It seems many of these cities are college towns, in addition to the large cities with their mega traffic. In Providence's case I think the proximity of College Hill/East Side makes walking to the office or retail doable. I am hoping that the new apartments/condos being built downcity will improve those numbers. I wonder what the pedestrian figures would have been like when cities had large industrial bases? At one time most of Smith Hill worked at Brown and Shop.

Mark

[Cotuit]

If Brown and RISD would refuse to issue parking permits to employees who live within a mile of the campuses, then we'd easily jump to the top 5.

[brick]

Cool stat that I hadn't seen before... we're #8:

I would kill to be part of that number going up. Anyone want to start a Medical Device company within city limits?

[Cotuit]

I'm part of the 12.56%.

What would the city be like if we drove?

[runawayjim]

If Brown and RISD would refuse to issue parking permits to employees who live within a mile of the campuses, then we'd easily jump to the top 5.

maybe i should start walking to work before 2010...

actually, there's a lot of PC faculty and staff that do walk to work (mostly faculty i think) because of owning homes in elmhurst. i'd like to see PC's home buyer program expand to more of elmhurst rather than just the crappy area surrounded by eaton st, tyndall ave, smith st, and oakland ave... basically where all the multi-family student housing is. you have to live there for 5 years, so unless you're younger or don't mind dealing with the student parties, it's not really worth it. i'd like to see it extended to the western side of the college and north into wanskuck a bit. i bet if more faculty and staff lived nearby, the number of walkers would increase (i'd take advantage of the program if it included more of elmhurst).

I'm part of the 12.56%.

What would the city be like if we drove?

it'd be liek the jewelry district... a parking lot.

[Recchia]

add me to that % if everything pans out as i want it to soon

[Cotuit]

add me to that % if everything pans out as i want it to soon

Oh do tell, you're not moving to Mass. are you? Maybe you're going to start walking to Mass. every day, imagine how many donuts you could eat if you walked to Mass. every day!

[runawayjim]

Oh do tell, you're not moving to Mass. are you? Maybe you're going to start walking to Mass. every day, imagine how many donuts you could eat if you walked to Mass. every day!

if he stopped at every dunkin donuts between warwick and the MA border... oh geez, that's a lot of donuts.

[Recchia]

Oh do tell, you're not moving to Mass. are you? Maybe you're going to start walking to Mass. every day, imagine how many donuts you could eat if you walked to Mass. every day!

No no no, possible new job in Providence on the horizons...

[JJK5]

If I read that right, $5 one way on weekends? That's cheap than the commuter rail and certainly cheaper than gassing up and driving up there. And I can walk to the Bonanza terminal from here! Very exciting.

Just got back from Boston, using Bonanza. Left Friday afternoon and it was pretty slick. Weekday rate was $15 dollars round trip, and you can use the return ticket whenever you want. Both trips took about 50 minutes, including a stop in Foxboro on the way back this morning. The worst part about it all is that while I'm probably 3/10ths of a mile from the Bonanza terminal as the crow flies, I have to walk over a mile to get to it thanks to barbed wire fences and other obstacles. They should cut a walkway from Smithfield Ave down into their parking lot.

[urbie]

Just got back from Boston, using Bonanza. Left Friday afternoon and it was pretty slick. Weekday rate was $15 dollars round trip, and you can use the return ticket whenever you want. Both trips took about 50 minutes, including a stop in Foxboro on the way back this morning. The worst part about it all is that while I'm probably 3/10ths of a mile from the Bonanza terminal as the crow flies, I have to walk over a mile to get to it thanks to barbed wire fences and other obstacles. They should cut a walkway from Smithfield Ave down into their parking lot.

Where does the bus take you, in Boston?

Urb

Just got back from Boston, using Bonanza. Left Friday afternoon and it was pretty slick. Weekday rate was $15 dollars round trip, and you can use the return ticket whenever you want. Both trips took about 50 minutes, including a stop in Foxboro on the way back this morning. The worst part about it all is that while I'm probably 3/10ths of a mile from the Bonanza terminal as the crow flies, I have to walk over a mile to get to it thanks to barbed wire fences and other obstacles. They should cut a walkway from Smithfield Ave down into their parking lot.

Where does the bus take you, in Boston?

Urb

[JJK5]

Where does the bus take you, in Boston?

Urb

South Station, or you can stay on the bus and it'll bring you to Logan. And on the way back it stops at the Providence terminal off of Exit 25, then to Kennedy Plaza. I believe they also pickup/dropoff somewhere around Brown but I'm not sure if that's every trip.

[jencoleslaw]

i love the bus. I was never late to a meeting when i took the bus, and no one gives you dirty looks if you sit in "their" seat. AND there's a little dunkin donuts terminal INSIDE the bus terminal.

[JJK5]

i love the bus. I was never late to a meeting when i took the bus, and no one gives you dirty looks if you sit in "their" seat. AND there's a little dunkin donuts terminal INSIDE the bus terminal.

I had a good experience with it, I'll definitely use them the next time I head up to Boston. (probably Friday if the girlfriend gets her way...)

[bhooley]

I had a good experience with it, I'll definitely use them the next time I head up to Boston. (probably Friday if the girlfriend gets her way...)

The bus does sound good. 50 minutes is less time than the train takes... What about rush hour traffic though. I would never drive up to Boston during rush hour times because of the traffic - the bus is going to have the same dilemma

[JJK5]

The bus does sound good. 50 minutes is less time than the train takes... What about rush hour traffic though. I would never drive up to Boston during rush hour times because of the traffic - the bus is going to have the same dilemma

Well I'm usually heading up Friday afternoons/evenings so I'm going into the city while the commuters are all trying to get out. Traffic moves really well. Same thing on my return, it was 8am on Monday morning leaving the city, while everyone else was going the opposite direction. Obviously it'd be different for someone using the bus to get to work in Boston, however it does use the HOV lane so that helps.

[urbie]

Well I'm usually heading up Friday afternoons/evenings so I'm going into the city while the commuters are all trying to get out. Traffic moves really well. Same thing on my return, it was 8am on Monday morning leaving the city, while everyone else was going the opposite direction. Obviously it'd be different for someone using the bus to get to work in Boston, however it does use the HOV lane so that helps.

How does the time compare to the train when you take the bus into Boston at rush hour (same direction as all the cars, I mean)?

Urb

[JJK5]

How does the time compare to the train when you take the bus into Boston at rush hour (same direction as all the cars, I mean)?

Urb

According to their website, they've added an additional 10 minutes to their rush hour inbound trips. I can only go by the times they quote on their site as I haven't taken the bus yet at those times. Peter Pan's site says it leaves the Providence terminal at 6:30a and arrives at South Station at 7:40a. MBTA says their commuter rail leaves Providence at 6:33a and arrives at South Station at 7:40a also. So I guess it depends on how much you can trust their estimates. Personally, if I was walking distance to the commuter rail instead of the bus terminal I'd probably favor the rail. Only because the bus can get slowed down by accidents and such that the train doesn't have to deal with. But for me living where I am and only taking trips to Boston for leisure (as opposed to having to be somewhere at a certain time), the bus works.

[jencoleslaw]

Well I'm usually heading up Friday afternoons/evenings so I'm going into the city while the commuters are all trying to get out. Traffic moves really well. Same thing on my return, it was 8am on Monday morning leaving the city, while everyone else was going the opposite direction. Obviously it'd be different for someone using the bus to get to work in Boston, however it does use the HOV lane so that helps.

the bus hops into the HOV lane and it does help. I have had a few long trips (an hour or a little more) coming home at 4 or 5 pm from Boston on the bus, but never been late going to boston in the morning and i usually took the 830 bus

[Cotuit]

How does the time compare to the train when you take the bus into Boston at rush hour (same direction as all the cars, I mean)?

It also depends on the train schedule. Some trains run with fewer stops than others, so some trains are quicker than others, the so called express trains (though no train runs truly express with no stops from Boston to Providence).

[markOne]

How does the time compare to the train when you take the bus into Boston at rush hour (same direction as all the cars, I mean)?

Urb

I haven't ever taken that bus but I won't let that stop me from opining...

The train from Providence to Back Bay takes an hour, Providence to South Station takes 1 hour and 5 minutes.

When I drive to Boston in rush hour I always leave 2 hours before I have to be at my meetings. I would think that the bus would take anywhere from 1.25 hours to 1.75 hours depending on traffic. Of course you have to factor in how long it takes you to get to the bus station and then from the drop off point to your job in Boston.

It might also take you 2 hours, door to door, to take the train depending on how close you are to the stations, and how you choose to make those trips. Here are examples of how my wife gets to/from the train stations on her commute to Boston and how it effects her total travel time.

Getting on the 7:12am train to Boston:

1) I drop her off on my way to work, leave home at 7:00 to be safe, today we left at 7:05 and still made it even hitting ALL of the lights. (she usually takes the 6:07 train, and I usually drop her off, but lets not talk about that *yawn*).

2) Take a cab for $6 not including tip, leave home at 6:55

3) Drive to South Attleboro, park for $2-3, leave home 7:05 (train leaves SA at 7:22)

4) Walk, leave home at 6:30am, this is seldom done due to the large quantity of stuff she carries.

5) Ride the bus (#42) pay $1.50 leaving home at 6:40 to catch a bus scheduled to arrive in KP at 6:51. This option has never been exercised. I know that having 20 minutes to make it from KP to the train station sounds like plenty of time but it is so common for the #42 to run 15 minutes late its too much of a risk. She could leave home at 6:20 to catch the previous bus but that is just too early, she can walk there faster (1.5 miles)

Getting to work from the train, this part adds quite a bit to her total commute time.

1) Get off at back bay, walk to 2 blocks to the Copley stop on the green line and ride the green line 15 minutes, and walk to work. Time added to the trip varies from 20 minutes to 40 minutes depending on the timing of the green line and station efficiency (she has just missed trains because of slow people in front of her at the turnstiles).

2) Ride to South Station, take the red line to the Park St. Station, transfer to the green line, ride for 25 minutes, and walk to work. Total time, 25-45 (she only does this if the weather is really bad).

On a typical day where I drop her off and she gets off at Back Bay it takes her 1.6 hours to get to work (door to door). Going home takes longer since she has to plan for the worst case timing of the green line. She has to leave work at least 45 minutes before she needs to catch the commuter line. This means that her trip home takes an average of 2 hours.

It makes for a long day but she likes the time on the commuter rail which she uses to read, listen to music, etc. It's the added time spent traveling between work and Back Bay that really hurts. If you can get a job allowing you to walk to the commuter stations then it is very hard to beat the train for commuting to Boston, especially if you can get a subsidized monthly pass (my wife only pays $62.50, her employer pays the rest so they don't have to give her a parking pass). The subsidized pass is so cheap that it would be crazy for her to drive.