Why don't more people use RIPTA?

[Garris]

The 78 bus now runs until 11 pm, so I can actually get home at night instead of having to get off at the tunnel and walk!  Yay RIPTA for actually expanding service hours on a travelled route.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ah, that's nice. I didn't know that. That's something I could use too...

- Garris

[Thom]

As a member of the ripta board I read all of your comments with great interest and will make sure that our staff reads and considers all of your suggestions as we struggle with how to make ripta a better system.

[Cotuit]

As a member of the ripta board I read all of your comments with great interest and will make sure that our staff reads and considers all of your suggestions as we struggle with how to make ripta a better system.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's great to hear! Thanks for reading.

[Frankie811]

As a member of the ripta board I read all of your comments with great interest and will make sure that our staff reads and considers all of your suggestions as we struggle with how to make ripta a better system.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmmmm And who else is out there

[Cotuit]

Hmmmm And who else is out there 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Quite a few people that have the ears of people in power, or are people in power, both in the private sector and in government are reading.

[virgo20]

Quite a few people that have the ears of people in power, or are people in power, both in the private sector and in government are reading. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The rising gasoline prices in recent months have sparked outcries from suburban married couples all over the nation. People are outraged that they have to budget X amount of $$ extra to transportation costs each month. Yet they still continue to buy SUV's and gas guzzling autos at no mercy. The increase in gas has affected me as well as a majority of the country. I work in Quincy, Ma and live here in Prov. As little as 6 months ago, a fill-up ran me 23 dollars. Now it is 35 dollars. For a person that fills up every 2 days, this amounts to a large difference per month. Needless to say, I have put in a request for a transfer to an office in Ea. Prov. that is obviously much closer. My realm of thinking is that I can utilize public transportation ( RIPTA ) to and from work and utilize my car for personal endeavours only. This would save me a lot of $$ in the long run. With the federal grant that RIPTA received, I think they should play into the escalating gas prices to promote new ridership. I am certainly signing up as I have not been on a RIPTA bus since 1993 when I graduated from hgh school. Cities all across the country, esp. New England, should take advantage of this and promote their livabilities.

[Garris]

Yet they still continue to buy SUV's and gas guzzling autos at no mercy... Cities all across the country, esp. New England, should take advantage of this and promote their livabilities.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, SUV sales, especially the largest, are dropping quite considerably. The makers that sell the biggest SUV's (GM, Nissan, Ford, Toyota) have seen sales of largest models drop, I think, 30-50%, and it's hitting Ford especially hard.

The public has been conditioned that these things are temporary, and I'm sure deep down, most people are convinced that it'll correct over time. People are also ultra-committed to the suburban lifestyle, and are willing to go as far as it takes and commute as long as necessary to get that extra square footage, that vaulted ceiling, that bigger master bedroom, etc. Despite the rising gas prices, people are moving out of the "ring" suburbs into suburbs even farther away from the metros for cheaper land and more space. Those exurbs are the fastest growing areas of the nation population-wise. Even in RI, the largest population growth in the last 10 years hasn't been here in Prov, but in South County!

- Garris

[CtownMikey]

people just need to get a better education, get better jobs, and deal with the high cost of city living..

just my imature view on things

[Frankie811]

people just need to get a better education, get better jobs, and deal with the high cost of city living..

just my imature view on things

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

YUP!!!!!!

[Recchia]

I had a great bus ride in today! The bus leaked diesel fuel all over the place, and then broke down on the side of Route 1! It was so much fun, as we waited around for a half hour for the next bus to come by, all while choking down tasty diesel fumes!

P.S. Anyone ever ridden on a filled to capacity RIPTA bus? They...don't...move... too much....weight... They must have built them knowing that they would NEVER be full...

[Frankie811]

I had a great bus ride in today!  The bus leaked diesel fuel all over the place, and then broke down on the side of Route 1!  It was so much fun, as we waited around for a half hour for the next bus to come by, all while choking down tasty diesel fumes! 

P.S.  Anyone ever ridden on a filled to capacity RIPTA bus?  They...don't...move... too much....weight... They must have built them knowing that they would NEVER be full...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You want cheese and crackers to go with that whine.

[urbie]

The rising gasoline prices in recent months have sparked outcries from suburban married couples all over the nation. People are outraged that they have to budget X amount of $$ extra to transportation costs each month. Yet they still continue to buy SUV's and gas guzzling autos at no mercy. The increase in gas has affected me as well as a majority of the country. I work in Quincy, Ma and live here in Prov. As little as 6 months ago, a fill-up ran me 23 dollars. Now it is 35 dollars. For a person that fills up every 2 days, this amounts to a large difference per month. Needless to say, I have put in a request for a transfer to an office in Ea. Prov. that is obviously much closer. My realm of thinking is that I can utilize public transportation ( RIPTA ) to and from work and utilize my car for personal endeavours only. This would save me a lot of $$ in the long run. With the federal grant that RIPTA received, I think they should play into the escalating gas prices to promote new ridership. I am certainly signing up as I have not been on a RIPTA bus since 1993 when I graduated from hgh school. Cities all across the country, esp. New England, should take advantage of this and promote their livabilities.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I hate monster FUV's as much as the next guy -- but I have to admit, the Chevy HHR "hearse" that Meg and I rented for the second half of our PVD trip last week, was really not a bad set of wheels (once you got past the looks, that is). It had tons of room, handled pretty well, and was great on gas, at around 30 mpg with a 4-banger (2.2 liter, I think) -- and even with the small mill, it was not sluggish at all in traffic.

Not a total solution to the gas problem, certainly, but if everyone who wanted an Expedition bought a hearse instead, it would be a start. You could carry an entire low brass section with that thing!

Urb

[Garris]

I hate monster FUV's as much as the next guy -- but I have to admit, the Chevy HHR "hearse" that Meg and I rented for the second half of our PVD trip last week, was really not a bad set of wheels (once you got past the looks, that is).  It had tons of room, handled pretty well, and was great on gas, at around 30 mpg with a 4-banger (2.2 liter, I think) -- and even with the small mill, it was not sluggish at all in traffic.

Not a total solution to the gas problem, certainly, but if everyone who wanted an Expedition bought a hearse instead, it would be a start.  You could carry an entire low brass section with that thing!

Urb

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The HHR is really not a "true" SUV. It's essentially a tall, car-based wagon, like the Chrysler PT Crusier, Pontiac Vibe, or Toyota Matrix. They generally get decent MPG, handle well, and, in the case of the HHR or PT Cruiser, have minivan levels of room in vehicles not much bigger than economy cars.

This class of vehicle and "space movers" (minivan like vehicles that are much smaller than US minivans, the first of which, the Mazda 5, is about to be introduced here) are huge in Europe and Asia, much bigger than in the US. Before we give the Europeans and Asian a free "green" pass, though, it's important to note that larger luxury SUV's like Range Rovers, BMW X5's, Mercedes M-classes, Mercedes G-Wagens, VW Tauregs, Lexus SUV's, Infiniti SUV's, etc do just as well overseas as they do here, much to the frustration of anti-SUV crowds overseas as well.

- Garris

[Recchia]

http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20...31.e20591b.html

$2.5 million for over a dozen new buses, both full size and shorter ones for flex service around the state.

Anyone actually use the flex service?

[Cotuit]

RIPTAs problem is that I hate it. Their whole problem boils down to me, I personally hate RIPTA. I have lived in cities and used public transit all of my adult life, and I hate RIPTA, if you can't win me over, you're sunk. The board should have a meeting with me, and listen to what I want.

It feels much better to finally come right out and say it.

[Liamlunchtray]

The HHR is really not a "true" SUV.  It's essentially a tall, car-based wagon, like the Chrysler PT Crusier, Pontiac Vibe, or Toyota Matrix.  They generally get decent MPG, handle well, and, in the case of the HHR or PT Cruiser, have minivan levels of room in vehicles not much bigger than economy cars.

This class of vehicle and "space movers" (minivan like vehicles that are much smaller than US minivans, the first of which, the Mazda 5, is about to be introduced here) are huge in Europe and Asia, much bigger than in the US.  Before we give the Europeans and Asian a free "green" pass, though, it's important to note that larger luxury SUV's like Range Rovers, BMW X5's, Mercedes M-classes, Mercedes G-Wagens, VW Tauregs, Lexus SUV's, Infiniti SUV's, etc do just as well overseas as they do here, much to the frustration of anti-SUV crowds overseas as well.

- Garris

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My wife has a Scion Xb (The goofy looking box) It may not be pretty, but it has an awful lot of interior room and she gets around 32mpg with mostly all city driving. I'm hoping that the small minivans start making inroads in the US market. The Mazda5 has a great combo of space and energy efficiency, it's just a matter of getting Americans over their aversion to minivans and/or wagons. I have a Mazda3 and I almost wish I had held out and gotten the 5. I get around 30mpg on my commute which is decent, but my car doesnt have a huge amount of room.

Liam

(rambling off topic)

Liam

[Recchia]

RIPTAs problem is that I hate it. Their whole problem boils down to me, I personally hate RIPTA. I have lived in cities and used public transit all of my adult life, and I hate RIPTA, if you can't win me over, you're sunk. The board should have a meeting with me, and listen to what I want.

It feels much better to finally come right out and say it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can I come to that meeting? I'm curious, besides the obvious, what do you hate about it the most?

My idea is that RIPTA start selling their bus passes to double as blunt wraps too, they might be more useful that way on some days when your bus just doesn't show up, or leaks fuel everywhere and you have to wait for a new bus.

[Garris]

RIPTAs problem is that I hate it. Their whole problem boils down to me, I personally hate RIPTA. I have lived in cities and used public transit all of my adult life, and I hate RIPTA, if you can't win me over, you're sunk. The board should have a meeting with me, and listen to what I want.

It feels much better to finally come right out and say it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow... Big, random emotional outburst. What prompted this? If you were king of RIPTA for a day, what would you do?

- Garris

[Garris]

\The Mazda5 has a great combo of space and energy efficiency, it's just a matter of getting Americans over their aversion to minivans and/or wagons. I have a Mazda3 and I almost wish I had held out and gotten the 5. I get around 30mpg on my commute which is decent, but my car doesnt have a huge amount of room.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I really like the Mazda 3. If I were in the market right now for a fuel efficient car, that's what I would get hands down.

The fate of those European style "people movers" in the US is going to be really interesting. I didn't think they were going to have much of a chance (previous type models from Nissan, Mitsubishi, and even Mazda have failed in the US before), but people's surprising acceptance of crossover vehicles in the marketplace (despite their muddy vehicle classifications) and ever rising gas prices might give these things a chance.

The otherwise clueless Ford is making their next Freestyle crossover more like the Mazda 5, and Hyundai is going to be introducing a similar vehicle. The about-to-be-introducted Dodge Neon replacement is going to be a fuel efficient tall wagon, much like the Vibe, Matrix, and PT Cruiser... So things are slowly changing.

It's going to be fascinating to see how Mazda markets the 5.

- Garris

[Rockford_IL]

Can I come to that meeting?  I'm curious, besides the obvious, what do you hate about it the most? 

My idea is that RIPTA start selling their bus passes to double as blunt wraps too, they might be more useful that way on some days when your bus just doesn't show up, or leaks fuel everywhere and you have to wait for a new bus.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

mmmhhh yes... bus pass to blunt wrap.

i like it.

[Cotuit]

I'm on the bus this morning, and it's this same driver who gave me grief about walking to the front of the bus before my stop (he said I'm supposed to remain seated until my stop, I guess he stops taking passengers when the seats are full, though with RIPTA, that's hardly an issue). So today, I ring for my stop stay in my seat, then stand at the back door to get off (as I'm sitting right across from it). He says, "Do you want to get off here?" No dipsh!t, I just like the sound of the bell and the view from standing at the door. He tells me the backdoor is only used at Kennedy Plaza, which is not true, and is a stupid thing to say. Every other transit agency encourages passengers to exit at the rear, New York's buses have giant signs in them to that effect. So basically the guy lied to me. I don't need this kind of aggravation in the morning. Don't fvcking lie to me! No matter how I exit the bus I get grief from this guy. If I had a car, why would I choose to put up with that? And this driver is actually one of the nicest ones. I'm fed up with the lazy drivers who don't know there routes, think answering a simple question requires union negotiation, barely speak English, or are just plan jerks.

The buses are perpetually off schedule. Not that it matters, since the schedules are totally useless, The average headway on RIPTA is half an hour, and that's a good headway, some are hourly. What kind of rapid transit comes hourly? How are people supposed to rely on that. They come half hourly or hourly, but are never on schedule, I'm just supposed to wait and hope a bus comes eventually?

Kennedy Plaza is a total disaster area. It should be bulldozed, the central bus hub may be convenient for RIPTA, but they will never gain passengers if they keep it. I'm on this tragically annoying parking committee at work, and no one will even discuss RIPTA, no one is willing to wait for a bus at Kennedy Plaza, and while it's a bit melodramatic, I can hardly blame them.

Now that school is back in session, I have to leave work a half hour later because I refuse to ride the bus when the Hope High kids are on it. Hope High should be bulldozed, but that is a different thread. In the morning, now that school is back, I can't get on a trolley on Federal Hill before 8:00am, because it is full of high schoolers before it gets to me (this is not because of my refusal to ride with the high schoolers, the trolley is literally full and will not take more passengers by the time it reaches me), which means I walk because I have to be to work at 8:30am and the trolleys come half hourly (or whenever the hell they feel like it).

On the subject of the trolleys. I've stated before that I hate them. They are the most ridiculous thing. They are uncomfortable, they have no suspension so they bang their way through all the potholes (especially the ones at the Kennedy Plaza trolleyway), they don't run in the lightest snowfall (wonderful choice of vehicles for a New England city), and 8 times out of 10 the wheelchair lifts don't work properly or don't work at all, making a task that should take two minutes take 10 or 15 (the whole damn route isn't more than 15 minutes long!).

And the trolley drivers... they should be ambassadors to the city seeing as the trolleys are supposed to be a mode of moving tourists to attractions around the city. However, apparently RIPTA puts drivers on the trolleys as some sort of horrid punishment, and the drivers have no problem showing their resentment for being assigned to them. On more than one occassion I've seen tourists ask more than one driver how to get to the Convention Center, the response..? "I don't know." YOU DON'T KNOW!? This is on the green line, you drive right by it, and if you were doing your job properly, according to ADA rules, you would be annouoncing it. Any driver of any bus on RIPTA who does not know how to get to the Convention Center should be put on probation until they learn where it is and how to get there. And drivers of the green line being asked if their trolley goes to the mall from Kennedy Plaza.. tell people to take the gold line (if they don't say they don't know). Take the Gold Line, would it kill you to point to the Westin and tell people they could take the skybridge?

And how about putting the seats back down after a wheelchair gets off. I don't know how many elderly people I've seen getting on at Dominca Manor struggle to try to put the seats back down. The drivers tell them to sit somewhere else. A) You should have put the damn seat back down when you let off the wheelchair passenger (many times, almost daily, both front seats are up on the green line trolley, these drivers know they will be picking up elderly passengers at Dominca Manor) B) The wheelchair seats are for the elderly and disabled when they aren't up for wheelchair passengers, so telling an elderly person to sit somewhere else doesn't fly, do your damn job!

Any infrastructure at busstops is invariably broken or missing. There is no signage that is of any use anywhere.

All this for a buck fifty, I hate it!

[Recchia]

I can second that the bus drivers are total dipsh!t aholes. You should see them yell at people at the airport, or give them smartass responses when they ask if the bus is going to Providence. Or when they just dont pay attention and people get on without paying or without a pass...no wonder RIPTA's always in financial troubles.

[Frankie811]

For the past few weeks or so I have bit my tounge while all the RIPTA bashing was going on because I totally disagree with most of what's been said. Due to car problems I was forced to ride the bus over the past two months, as I have in the past due to similar car problems, and I knew that I could rely on RIPTA to get me where I'm going. The buses were extremly reliable and usually never more than 2 - 3 minutes off schedule. All the drivers that I encountered were nice and polite given me a " have a nice day " as I thanked them when I got off the bus. Many of the drivers know their daily riders and where their stops are. Some drivers will also wait a few more moments if they don't see their regular riders at Kennedy Plaza. The riders seem to like the service also since it's basically their only means of transportation. Many of them thank the driver while exiting the coach. I'm still shocked that most of the drivers that I met were so friendly, given that they have to put up with traffic, bad drivers, bad roads, construction delays and rude passengers. I give them a thumbs up. At $ 1.50 one way and $ 1.75 for a transfer, I found it to be a good deal. A rider can go from Woonsocket clear down to Newport for $ 1.75 and still people complain. And while were at it, what other public transit authority has statewide service? I check the Delaware bus service since their the cloest in size to RI and they do not have state wide service. They have intra service in 3 counties. You can't ride from one county to another. And you can get to most cities/towns in RI. If anything, I think RIPTA's service is too good, meaning I think they try to please everyone with extensive service through so many communities. Everytime they look at cutting back service everyone cries foul. Why do we need a Camp St bus when you have good service on Hope St and N. Main St which is only a few blocks away. Why do we need a # 32 bus that has only 3 morning and 3 afternoon runs with nobody on it? People can take the #33 and walk a few blocks. RIPTA also has hubs in Pawtucket and Newport to provide even more coverage to those communities. No, my experiences have been nothing but positives, except for one thing. TEENS!!! When there are a bunch of kids on the bus they do tend to act up with yelling and bad language. They are so rude and obnoxious at times. I absolutly hate it. Oh, I do have another problem. Service to Pawtucket via Main St and Pawtucket Ave during the hours of 6 - 8pm is terrible. This is still the commute hours and the bus runs every 1/2 hour and is always full. During the morning and afternoon it runs every ten minutes. Woonsocket is even worse since it runs every hour and is always full also. The shake, rattle and roll of these buses is annoying also. I would encourage anyone who has a complaint or problem with a driver to report them to RIPTA.

[runturtlerun]

The buses were extremly reliable and usually never more than 2 - 3 minutes off schedule. All the drivers that I encountered were nice and polite given me a " have a nice day " as I thanked them when I got off the bus. Many of the drivers know their daily riders and where their stops are. Some drivers will also wait a few more moments if they don't see their regular riders at Kennedy Plaza. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This has been my experience with RIPTA as well. I have seen bus drivers wait for their regulars, etc., and the drivers have always been friendly and polite. My experiences have generally been positive, despite the lack of frequent enough service.

I think its a shame that this thread has focused on all of the negatives with RIPTA. Do the buses break down? Absolutely! Do the buses come frequently enough? No. But these complaints, in my opinion, are caused by the lack of sufficient funding of this vital public service. People want RIPTA to be able to function on its own. Well, name one public transit system without government subsidies! It simply doesn't happen. Unfortunately, the majority of the people who ride RIPTA do not have enough clout in this state to make public transit improvements a priority.

Commuter rails going into south county help to make ever sprawling suburban development more feasible. And we'll pay millions to build that for all the rich people running as fast as they can as far away as they can from poor people in the inner city. But god forbid we should increase funding to make RIPTA more viable for the poor people that depend on it every day to get around.

Phew ... sorry for the rant.

[Frankie811]

This has been my experience with RIPTA as well.  I have seen bus drivers wait for their regulars, etc., and the drivers have always been friendly and polite.  My experiences have generally been positive, despite the lack of frequent enough service. 

I think its a shame that this thread has focused on all of the negatives with RIPTA.  Do the buses break down?  Absolutely!  Do the buses come frequently enough?  No.  But these complaints, in my opinion, are caused by the lack of sufficient funding of this vital public service.  People want RIPTA to be able to function on its own.  Well, name one public transit system without government subsidies!  It simply doesn't happen.  Unfortunately, the majority of the people who ride RIPTA do not have enough clout in this state to make public transit improvements a priority.

Commuter rails going into south county help to make ever sprawling suburban development more feasible.  And we'll pay millions to build that for all the rich people running as fast as they can as far away as they can from poor people in the inner city.  But god forbid we should increase funding to make RIPTA more viable for the poor people that depend on it every day to get around. 

Phew ... sorry for the rant.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

DITTO!!!!!!!!! And if you really want an adventure, jump on the Woonsocket bus. The people on that bus...................