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Riding RIPTA For Fun Leave your car at home by Barry Schiller
One popular destination is Newport, and you can choose from about 41 trips every weekday and 15 to 20 on weekends. The #60 buses run between Providence, all the East Bay communities, and Newport. They drop you right at the Gateway Center, an easy and scenic walk to all of downtown Newport. Local buses can take you to the Bellevue Avenue mansions area, and you can walk the entire Cliff Walk and catch the bus at the far end, for an easy ride back. At about 60 miles round-trip, the bus ride saves you probably 3 gallons of gas, or about $9, and another likely $10 in parking fees. Once in town, you can ride RIPTA trolleys to all your tourist destinations, and get discounts to attractions besides.
RIPTA also runs the fast ferry all summer long (though October 16), from its dock at 180 Allens Avenue (just south of the hurricane barrier) to the center of the Newport waterfront at Perrotti Park. Bicycles are allowed on the ferry for no extra charge. For a great day of riding, bike around Ocean Drive, put your bike on the rack of a #60 bus from Newport to Bristol, and ride back to Providence on the East Bay bike path. You can bring your bike for free on any bus, just load it onto the front bike rack. The state Department of Transportation Web site has a lot more info about bike paths, including maps.
The East Bay path can also be a destination in itself. The #60 bus route crosses the path at various spots in Barrington, Warren and Bristol. It also goes right by the Audubon Nature Center on the Warren-Bristol line. Other options for reaching the path are the #33 Riverside and #32 West Barrington routes.
Other bus-accessible bike routes are the Cranston-West Bay path -- take the #31 Cranston Street (which is a continuation of #57 from Centerdale) to start at the northern end. To start at the southern end, catch the #13 Arctic, and #30 Oaklawn Ave will take you to the middle.
Other destinations you can reach by bus include Pawtucket's Slater Mill (take the #99 Providence-Pawtucket, about every 10 minutes, or any #42 Hope). The Mill's exhibits are excellent. Nearby is the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center with many suggestions for interesting things to do in the area.
Audubon's headquarters and preserve, Powder Mill Ledges in Smithfield, has hiking trails and can be reached by the #9 route.
Woonsocket's Museum of Work & Culture can reached from the Providence area by Route #54. Roger Williams Park and its Zoo have frequent service on the #20 and #12 lines. The #14 Narragansett can serve as a beach bus to the Narragansett Town Beach, and it also serves historic Wickford and points nearby. Soon, we hope, it will reach the South County Bike Path which is supposed to be extended to Narragansett ... but for now that path can be reached on the #64 (from Newport) and #66 (from Providence) lines.
Rhode Island's colleges and universities have many interesting activities, and all of them are served by RIPTA. URI can be reached from Providence on the Route #66, from Newport on #64 (which also goes to scenic downtown Jamestown and the Kingston Railroad station, which is the terminus of the South County Bike Path). Providence College is served by the #55 which also goes to Rhode Island College, which in turn is served by the #26. East Side buses such as #42, #40 and #34 serve Brown University, and the #60 Providence-Newport goes to Roger Williams University -- and that line connects in Newport with local buses to Salve Regina.
Not to be forgotten are the trolleys, which serve Federal Hill, the East Side and Fox Point, and, though not everyone thinks things are so much fun there, the State House.
For more adventurous trips, MBTA off-peak commuter and weekend trains take bikes for free (its $6 for passengers from Providence to Boston). Back Bay station is only about four blocks from the Charles River bike paths, which run on both sides of the river. This provides a pleasant way to get to Cambridge, MIT and Harvard Square. Schedules and fares are easy to find at the MBTA Web site.
With a little bit of planning, you can have a good time without a car, without parking hassles, and without buying any gas from the oil barons.
Barry Schiller, a professor emeritus at Rhode Island College, is an active community advocate on environmental and transportation issues.