Metacom Avenue will have regular bus service starting this week, after requests from the town and business owners that a route be established here.
Rhode Island Public Transit Administration …
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Metacom Avenue will have regular bus service starting this week, after requests from the town and business owners that a route be established here.
Rhode Island Public Transit Administration (RIPTA) Route 61x consists of one trip from Providence to the Park N Ride lot in Tiverton each morning, and one return trip from Tiverton to Providence every afternoon/evening.
The morning trip leaves Providence at 6:32 a.m. and is scheduled to stop at Warren's TPI Composites at 6:50 a.m. From there, it will follow Route 136, and then will follow the usual route through Portsmouth and into Tiverton, along Routes 114 and 24.
In the afternoon, the bus leaves the Fish Road (Tiverton) Park N Ride at 3:23 p.m., repeats the route in reverse and arrives in Provideneat 3:59 a.m., stopping in Bristol and Warren along the way.
Welcome change
Town officials and business owners had wanted a dedicated route on Metacom for years.
Warren Town Planner Bob Rulli said that major businesses and institutions along Metacom, including TPI, WaterRower and the Highlander Charter School, as well as Taylor Box just around the corner on Child Street, have large numbers of employees and students who travel from Providence, often carpool, and would benefit greatly from the service.
"It's a good start," Mr. Rulli said. "As we look with fresh eyes on what Metacom Avenue should be, certainly having reliable public transportation along that corridor is important."
Town officials worked with WaterRower, Taylor Box and others to push for the new route, and a recent survey given to local employees, in English and Spanish, showed a real need.
"There's a significant interest in it," Mr. Rulli said.
Highlander Charter spends $1 million or more per year on private transportation for its students, he noted, and businesses including Taylor Box and WaterRower have large groups of employees who often carpool.
Business owners "would tell you that if the driver gets a better job, (the business) is out five people."
The new route travels into and out of Warren along Route 136 into Swansea and across to Route 195, and will not affect the existing bus route that cuts across between Route 114 and Metacom Avenue via Franklin Street. While that route is used and has been in service for some time, he said the addition of a dedicated route that travels along Metacom its entire run is crucial:
"It's really smart, in terms of how we see ourselves moving forward, to have public transportation" on Metacom, Mr. Rulli said.