Why don't more people use RIPTA?

[KRC]

BRT down Reservoir Ave to the Pastore Center was being discussed over the summer.

Really? How did I miss that? Light rail between both sides of the Bay and Downtown and from Pawtucket should be a priority. You know, in my opinon of course. Shouldn't that be enough?

[Recchia]

Really? How did I miss that?

Cause it was never announced publicly, I overheard it in a meeting...

[CtownMikey]

brt?

[Cotuit]

brt?

Bus Rapid Transit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_rapid_transit

[brick]

Hi all,

Thought I would send out a hello to fellow fans of Providence. This is a topic I spend a lot of time thinking about as I have travelled Europe a bit and am always impressed by their public transit and have always wondered why uban planners in the 40's through to the 90's designed around cars which are simply a lot of trouble. (parking, congestion, infrastructure deterioration, etc.).

I think BRT are difficult to get approval for because busses have a pretty bad name. You can obviously debate the reasons for the bad name but the stigma is there. I believe this stigma is at least part of the reason that the MBTA is having so much trouble getting everything it needs for its Silver Line.

At this point, the acquistion of land looks to be the biggest problem for any mass transit system. Because of the water table, etc., I think a subway is an expensive proposition. Although recent developments in construction may have changed that equation.

Still, my favorite have always been overground trolleys which of course Providence got rid of when everyone wanted to be car friendly. but at least a trolley system within Providence to kind of connect some of the neighborhoods to DownCity would be nice.

Although this is the Mass transit thread, as another alternative to cars I would like to see Providence proper get a little more active in the Greenway corridor and have some kind of connection for bicycles between the East Bay Bike Path, the Cranston Bike Path, and the in development Blackstone River Bikepath. I think that will get something going across the new Washington Bridge and then through the 195 area to connect to Allens Ave but this doesn't get anyone into Downcity. Right now, Providence streets are not friendly to bikes, IMO, and there is no place around to really leave on either. I know foot traffic is better than bike traffic but the more ways people can get into the city without bringing their cars, the better.

Sorry for the amalgism of thoughts. I'll be more coherent in the future.

Steve

[runawayjim]

Hi all,

Thought I would send out a hello to fellow fans of Providence. This is a topic I spend a lot of time thinking about as I have travelled Europe a bit and am always impressed by their public transit and have always wondered why uban planners in the 40's through to the 90's designed around cars which are simply a lot of trouble. (parking, congestion, infrastructure deterioration, etc.).

I think BRT are difficult to get approval for because busses have a pretty bad name. You can obviously debate the reasons for the bad name but the stigma is there. I believe this stigma is at least part of the reason that the MBTA is having so much trouble getting everything it needs for its Silver Line.

At this point, the acquistion of land looks to be the biggest problem for any mass transit system. Because of the water table, etc., I think a subway is an expensive proposition. Although recent developments in construction may have changed that equation.

Still, my favorite have always been overground trolleys which of course Providence got rid of when everyone wanted to be car friendly. but at least a trolley system within Providence to kind of connect some of the neighborhoods to DownCity would be nice.

i've been spending a lot of time in philadelphia lately, and although they are now in the midst of a transit strike (septa's workers are all on strike, no subway or bus service in the city and outside the city... only the commuter rail which doesn't cover the people that live int he city or a lot of people outside), they do have a decent public transportation system that incorporates the trolleys. the only thing that could make it better is if the trolley's had their own road or part of the road. my girlfriend lives west of penn, and there's a trolley that goes down baltimore ave. it then goes underground and becomes a high-speed subway. it's similar to boston's green line when it's on the street (although the green line has it's own lane in parts of the city), but the philly trolley goes high speed when it goes underground, unlike the green line, which just putt-putts along... something like that would be nice in providence if they could build tunnels under the downcity area. have it go along major routes in the neighborhoods (smith st, westminster st, cranston st, broad st, douglas ave, charles st) and then go underground when it gets near downtown. build a couple stations (one for the state offices, one at kennedy plaza, one at the mall, one by JWU, etc...). i don't know how feasible that is, but that seems like it'd be perfect for providence...

I made a new thread for biking in Providence

-Cotuit

[urbie]

i've been spending a lot of time in philadelphia lately, and although they are now in the midst of a transit strike (septa's workers are all on strike, no subway or bus service in the city and outside the city... only the commuter rail which doesn't cover the people that live int he city or a lot of people outside), they do have a decent public transportation system that incorporates the trolleys. the only thing that could make it better is if the trolley's had their own road or part of the road. my girlfriend lives west of penn, and there's a trolley that goes down baltimore ave. it then goes underground and becomes a high-speed subway. it's similar to boston's green line when it's on the street (although the green line has it's own lane in parts of the city), but the philly trolley goes high speed when it goes underground, unlike the green line, which just putt-putts along... something like that would be nice in providence if they could build tunnels under the downcity area. have it go along major routes in the neighborhoods (smith st, westminster st, cranston st, broad st, douglas ave, charles st) and then go underground when it gets near downtown. build a couple stations (one for the state offices, one at kennedy plaza, one at the mall, one by JWU, etc...). i don't know how feasible that is, but that seems like it'd be perfect for providence...

I made a new thread for biking in Providence

-Cotuit

Providence residents (and enthusiasts) have Philadelphia to thank, by the way, for coining the acronym SEPTA, possibly the only mass-transit authority name that makes RIPTA sound elegant....

Urb

[brick]

Providence residents (and enthusiasts) have Philadelphia to thank, by the way, for coining the acronym SEPTA, possibly the only mass-transit authority name that makes RIPTA sound elegant....

Urb

I don't know. I think it's pretty hard to get a decent acronym.

MARTA and BART are probably the only ones that roll off of the tongue. Every other one is just called by something else. The El, the T, the Metro. etc.

Speaking of SEPTA I used to live in Bryn Mawr. My apt was about 200 feet from the 69th street extension line. One of my more embarassaing evenings ended with not being able to make it from that train to my apartment and passing out on the lawn. The joys of a 24 hour train system...at least I got off at the right stop

Philadelphia is a great city, btw. It is unfortunate that it was allowed to become so crime-ridden in the 70's. The layout of the city is great and they have a ton of public art, plazas, etc. Unfortunately even now you have to know it pretty well to stay out of bad areas. but for urbanites I would highly suggest walking from the art museum down the franklin parkway through the courtyard of city hall and then down to the Independence Mall and then across over through society hill to south st.

[Recchia]

Speaking of SEPTA I used to live in Bryn Mawr. My apt was about 200 feet from the 69th street extension line. One of my more embarassaing evenings ended with not being able to make it from that train to my apartment and passing out on the lawn. The joys of a 24 hour train system...at least I got off at the right stop

Can we start a "drunken transit stories" thread? I have plenty of these!

[Frankie811]

http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20...5.1313c074.html

[mr2448]

http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20...5.1313c074.html

Well considering that there were once car barns on Academy Ave, Broad St., Cranston St., Broad St (Pawt), I guess spending this much in one place is worth it. they don't say what will become of the present barn. Will they take up both sides of Elmwood? Once again the city loses in lost tax revenue.

On another thread there is discussion concerning subways. Providence's UER considered this in the 20's(when Providence was a city of 260,000), but the depression killed it. Plans were drawn up and are available on Hope Street at the Preservation library.

Mark

[Frankie811]

Heres the new RIPTA buses... hopefully these will improve their image...

I believe they are low-floor

I recently rode in one of the new buses and I don't like them. I find them to be awkward and the large oversized tire wells take up too much space in the front of the bus which means less seats.

[TheBostonian]

Those low floor buses are nifty. Yes, the front tire wells take up valuable space. But the rear tire wells are hidden nicely under seats since the rear of the bus is higher. Entering and entering these buses can be a single step as small as a few inches, especially if there is a curb. I've seen some low floor buses in Boston lower themselves even further with some sort of magic hydraulic system. And the wheelchair ramp has so few moving parts: it is just a single panel that flips out in a flash.

[Frankie811]

http://www.pbn.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/118622

[Frankie811]

Those low floor buses are nifty. Yes, the front tire wells take up valuable space. But the rear tire wells are hidden nicely under seats since the rear of the bus is higher. Entering and entering these buses can be a single step as small as a few inches, especially if there is a curb. I've seen some low floor buses in Boston lower themselves even further with some sort of magic hydraulic system. And the wheelchair ramp has so few moving parts: it is just a single panel that flips out in a flash.

There's also not much leg room due to the seats in front of you. The old buses are much more roomy. And it's tough climbing up those stairs to sit in the back of the bus when I'm drunk.

[95-Souf]

Probably cuz its call RIPTA lol....

[Baines]

Hi all-

A long time ago in a fogotten thread I mentioned that PVD had one of the top 15 of the nation's major city "bottlenecks"

Here it is coming in at number 14:

Worst Bottlenecks in Major Cities

1. Los Angeles

[Frankie811]

Hmmmmmmm Where's Boston listed.

[runawayjim]

Hmmmmmmm Where's Boston listed.

they couldn't pin point it to any one interchange... so boston's in its own category. "cities that are a bottleneck"

[Baines]

they couldn't pin point it to any one interchange... so boston's in its own category. "cities that are a are a bottleneck"

Boy, is that the truth. I checked with a DOT source and that is in fact the case...there is no one "bottleneck" that gets into the top 20 but the city itself is one.

I hope the Route 195 and Route 10/6 projects completion (or even existance) will create another "livable major city" leverage advantage for PVD over BOS....if the city and others use it!

[Frankie811]

http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20...s.1818255a.html

[runawayjim]

http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20...s.1818255a.html

not a bad idea if it gives money to ripta that will go to other issues, but if the money goes strictly towards turning the bus into a billboard, i think it's terrible. ripta's funded by teh state. mohegan sun and foxwoods have their own buses that they do this with, but they aren't given state money to run the buses.

[Cotuit]

That's revolting.

[basachs]

I disagree. Gambling is a legal activity, the state cannot fund RIPTA 100 percent so who are we to condemn them for taking ad revenue from a legitimate business? Stip clubs should be able to do this too.

Seriously though, this whole thread is about getting people to use RIPTA. This is a way to do that. I am not a gambling addict, but I like going to the casino occasionally and I like public transportation. I would use this service if I cared to go to Lincoln Park.

I have more issue with the dog track portion of it, being a greyhound owner. But again, its a legal activity. Just does not fit in with my sense of morality.

[Frankie811]

PLEASE NOTE THAT RIPTA'S SCHEDULE WILL CHANGE TOMORROW AS THEY SWITCH TO THEIR WINTER SCHEDULE.