laterbacon

laterbacon t1_jdwbrhr wrote

Reply to comment by MahBoy in Broad Street, Pawtuxet RI, 1900 and now by kayakhomeless

The R-Line should be an electric tram and there should be a matching east-west R-Line that goes from the Hartford section of Providence through Olneyville, down Broadway, through downtown, then using the transit tunnel and continuing through Wayland Square over the Henderson Bridge to East Providence. In real dollars it would be really expensive but the benefits would be huge.

Something that wouldn't be nearly as ambitious or expensive would be bus lanes, especially for the R Line on North Main Street. I hate that a bus full of people is subject to traffic delays from congestion caused mostly by single occupancy vehicles. We also need bus lanes on Charles Street at least from Orms Street to Silver Spring.

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laterbacon t1_jdp1coj wrote

Reply to RIPTA first-timer by cinnamonh

It's only every hour instead of every 20 minutes, but the 66 goes directly to downtown Providence via I-95 from the airport and will cut your travel time in half for the first leg of your trip.

As far as safety and reliability, RIPTA is very good for an American transit agency in a city the size of Providence. You might encounter some characters on the bus but there are security cameras on all the buses and the drivers don't tolerate bullshit.

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laterbacon OP t1_jc8cqq6 wrote

Reply to comment by tzu2 in Providence to Boston in 45 minutes? RIDOT, MBTA studying faster, cleaner electric trains [ProJo] by laterbacon

It's somewhere close to that but it's expensive and only runs a handful of times per day. It only stops at 128 between Providence and Boston. EMUs on the commuter rail would stop at all the other stations in between and still make it to Boston in 45 minutes. The electrification plan also includes increased frequencies of at least every 30 minutes all day

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laterbacon OP t1_jc84212 wrote

Reply to comment by redd-this in Providence to Boston in 45 minutes? RIDOT, MBTA studying faster, cleaner electric trains [ProJo] by laterbacon

It's currently about an hour and 15 minutes from Providence to South Station so it's closer to a 30 minute difference, which is big (https://www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Providence/timetable?schedule_direction[direction_id]=1#direction-filter). In addition to the time savings, Electric Multiple Units are also much quieter and don't belch diesel exhaust into the communities they pass through. They're cheaper to maintain and far lighter than diesel electric locomotives too which puts a lot less stress on the rails and ballast.

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laterbacon OP t1_jc6quxy wrote

Reply to comment by chefsteev in Providence to Boston in 45 minutes? RIDOT, MBTA studying faster, cleaner electric trains [ProJo] by laterbacon

Amtrak is great if it lines up with your schedule, but I'd rather to be able to hop on a train that comes every half hour without having to plan in advance. Part of the MBTA electrification plan is increasing frequency to 15 minutes peak and 30 minutes off peak which would be huge.

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