ROUTE 34| EAST PROVIDENCE - ripta

Comprehensive Route Evaluation
ROUTE 34| EAST PROVIDENCE
ROUTE OVERVIEW
Route 34 operates between the Citizens Bank Operations Center off of Trips Lane in East Providence and
Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence via Evergreen Apartments, Wampanoag Plaza, Six Corners, , and
Fox Point (see Figure 1).
FIGURE 1 | ROUTE MAP
Route 34 serves the following areas, activity centers, and transit facilities:
Communities/Neighborhoods
• East Providence
• Providence/Fox Point
• Providence/Downtown
Activity Centers
• Citizens Bank Operations Center
• Evergreen Apartments
• Wampanoag Plaza/Stop & Shop
• East Providence Senior Center
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 1

• East Providence High School
• Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Transit Centers
• Wampanoag Plaza (de-facto transit center)
• Kennedy Plaza
ALIGNMENT AND SERVICE PATTERNS
On weekdays, peak period service and the last outbound trip operates between the Citizens Bank
Operations Center and Kennedy Plaza and off-peak and weekend trips operate between Evergreen
Apartments (see Table 1). On weekends, all service operates between Evergreen Apartment and
downtown Providence.
Route 34’s alignment is quite circuitous. From the Citizens Bank Operations Center, the route winds
through a small industrial area to the east of the East Shore Expressway to the Evergreen Apartments,
which is a small Section 8 apartment complex. It then operates to Waterman Avenue and then operates
north along Commercial Way, Taunton Avenue, and Pawtucket Avenue to serve Wampanoag Plaza and
East Providence High School. It then operates back south to Warren Avenue to I-195 and then into
downtown Providence along South Main Street.
TABLE 1| SERVICE VARIANTS
TRIPS PER DAY
VARIANT ORIGIN DESTINATION UNIQUE FEATURE WEEKDAY SAT SUN
INBOUND 23 11 11
D4V1P4 Evergreen Apts. Kennedy Plaza Primary variant 15 11 11
D4V1P3 Tripps Lane Kennedy Plaza Peak hours only 8 – –
OUTBOUND 23 12 10
D5V2P6 Kennedy Plaza Evergreen Apts. Primary variant 14 12 10
D5V2P5 Kennedy Plaza Tripp Lane Peak hours only 9 – –
SIMILAR ROUTES AND TRANSFER OPPORTUNITIES
Route 34 largely provides unique service, and in many respects its circuitousness appears to be the
product of a service design that is intended to fill in gaps in other services.
As with most RIPTA routes, Route 34 operates to and from Kennedy Plaza, where connections can be
made with most other RIPTA routes. In addition, transfers can be made with:
• Routes 33 Riverside and 78 Beverage Hill Avenue at Wampanoag Plaza.
SCHEDULE
Weekday service on Route 34 begins at 5:26 AM inbound and at 5:57 AM outbound. The first four
outbound trips and their inbound counterparts operate to Citizens Bank, as do four inbound trips between
3:32 PM and 5:56 PM, and their outbound counterparts (see Table 2). The last inbound trip departs the
Evergreen Apartments at Jordan Street and Catamore Avenue at 9:59 PM. The last outbound trip departs
Kennedy Plaza at 10:30 PM and operates to the Citizens Bank Operations Center. Weekday service
frequencies are generally every 40 minutes during the day, but range from 32 to 50 minutes, and every 69
minutes at night.
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 2

TABLE 2 | SCHEDULE SUMMARY
SERVICE DAY SPAN OF SERVICE ONE-WAY TRIPS HEADWAY
IB OB (MIN)
WEEKDAY 5:26 AM – 10:30 PM 23 23 32-69
Early AM 5:26 AM – 6:59 AM 3 2 35
AM Peak 7:00 AM – 8:59 AM 3 3 40-48
Midday 9:00 AM – 2:59 PM 9 9 32-43
PM Peak 3:00 PM – 5:59 PM 4 4 40-50
Night 6:00 PM – 10:30 PM 4 5 69
SATURDAY 6:20 AM – 7:39 PM 11 12 70
SUNDAY 8:18 AM – 7:19 PM 11 10 66
Data is based on RIPTA schedules current to May 2012. Span of service indicates the span from the
departure time of the first scheduled trip to the departure time of the last scheduled trip.
On weekends, all service operates between Evergreen Apartments and Kennedy Plaza. The first inbound
Saturday trip departs at 6:56 AM, and 6:20 AM outbound. The last Saturday inbound trip is at 6:36 PM,
and 7:10 PM outbound. The first Sunday inbound trip is at 8:18 AM and 8:50 AM outbound. The last
inbound Sunday trip begins at 7:19 PM, and 6:44 PM outbound. Saturday service operates every 70
minutes and Sunday service operates every 66 minutes.
RIDERSHIP
Route 34 carries 613 passengers per weekday, or about half of the system average of 1,214. Saturday
ridership averages 299 and Sunday averages 171 passengers. Ridership per trip averages 13.3 on
weekdays, 13.0 on Saturdays, and 8.1 on Sundays.
TABLE 3 | RIDERSHIP BY TIME PERIOD
SERVICE DAY RIDERSHIP RIDERSHIP PER TRIP RIDERSHIP PER SERVICE HOUR
IB OB TOTAL IB OB TOTAL IB OB TOTAL
WEEKDAY 291 322 613 12.7 13.8 13.3 17 19 35
Early AM 27 26 53 9.9 13.2 11.0 17 25 34
AM Peak 56 56 112 18.7 16.8 17.6 28 28 57
Midday 108 115 223 12.0 12.8 12.4 18 19 37
PM Peak 81 77 158 19.7 18.6 19.1 27 26 53
Night 19 48 67 4.7 8.4 6.7 4 9 13
SATURDAY 150 149 299 13.7 12.4 13.0 12 11 22
SUNDAY 85 86 171 7.3 9.0 8.1 7 9 15
Performance information is based on data from RIPTA.
Route 34's ridership per trip and per hour is strongest during peak periods, with midday and evening
ridership much lower. Inbound and outbound ridership is balanced throughout the day, with the
exception of the night hours, which are strongly dominated by outbound trips.
RIDERSHIP BY STOP
Route 34’s highest ridership is focused in a few key areas (see Figures 2 and 3). On inbound trips, the
highest activity stops are:
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 3

Ons and Offs by Stop
Citizens Way @ Citizens Bank Offices
Citizens Way Near Side Tripps Lane
Tripps Lane Opposite Madeline
Tripps Lane @ 15 Tripps Lane
Tripps Lane Near Side Wampanoag Trail
Amaral Far Side Wampanoag Trail
Amaral Near Side Sovereign Way
Risho Far Side Sovereign Way
Risho Near Side Us Coast Guard Entrance
Risho Near Side 20 Risho
Catamore Far Side 70 Catamore Blvd
Jordan Near Side Evergreen
Evergreen Far Side Jordan
Evergreen Opposite 130 Evergreen
Evergreen @ 50 Evergreen Apartments
Evergreen @ 80 Evergreen Apartments
Evergreen Near Side Evergreen Drive
Jordan Far Side Evergreen
Jordan Near Side Catamore
Highland @ Sound Fx - 40 Highland
Warren Far Side Highland
Waterman Far Side State
Waterman Opposite 991 Waterman
Waterman @ 900 Waterman
Waterman Near Side Commercial Way
Commercial Way Opposite Utilty Pole #4
Commercial Way Far Side J Mederios
Commercial Way @ 60 Commercial Way
Commercial Way @ 70 Commercial Way
Commercial Way Opposite 89 …
Commercial Way Near Side Taunton
Taunton @ Park N Ride
Taunton Opposite Elmwood Dealership
Pawtucket Ave @ 1925 Pawtucket Avenue
Pawtucket Ave Near Side Shoppers …
Pawtucket Ave Opposite East …
Pawtucket Ave @ Providence Country …
Pawtucket Ave Near Side Waterman
Pawtucket Ave Near Side Grosvenor
Pawtucket Ave Near Side Warren Ave
Warren Opposite S Blossom
Warren Near Side Abby
Warren Opposite Brightridge
Warren Opposite Donnelly
Warren Near Side Broadway
Warren Near Side S Sharon
Warren Near Side S Carpenter
Warren @ 184 Warren
Warren Opposite Seventh
Warren Near Side Potter
South Main Far Side James
South Main Opposite 269 S Main St
S Main Near Side Packet
South Main @ Superior Court
South Main @ Old Stone Bank
South Main Near Side Washington
Steeple Far Side Memorial
Exchange Terrace Far Side Exchange St
Kennedy Plaza @ Berth N
Load: Passengers On-Board Between Stops
FIGURE 2 | WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP BY STOP MAP
FIGURE 3 | WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP BY STOP
200
180
160
140
Weekday Inbound
Tripps Lane
On
Offs
Load
Common Segment
260
234
208
182
120
156
100
80
60
40
20
0
130
104
78
52
26
0
• Evergreen Apartments on Evergreen Drive, with 35 boardings.
• Wampanoag Plaza at Pawtucket Avenue and Taunton Avenue, with 45 boardings and 22
alightings. These trips most likely represent trips to and from Wampanoag Plaza as well as
transfers to Routes 33 Riverside and 78 Beverage Hill/East Providence.
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 4

Riders per Trip
5:26
5:57
6:01
6:32
6:38
7:17
7:20
8:00
8:05
8:45
8:48
9:28
9:35
10:09
10:10
10:44
10:52
11:27
11:31
12:06
12:10
12:45
12:49
13:24
13:28
14:03
14:07
14:42
14:55
15:30
15:32
16:15
16:22
17:02
17:05
17:45
17:56
18:34
18:35
19:05
19:43
20:14
20:50
21:21
21:59
22:30
• Along Warren Avenue through East Providence, where there are 99 boardings and 19 alightings.
The two busiest stops along this segment are Warren Avenue at Broadway (25 boarding and 5
alightings) and Warrant Street at Potter Street (35 boardings and 4 alightings).
• Kennedy Plaza, with 293 alightings. In total, nearly 60% of Route 34’s riders alight at Kennedy
Plaza.
The extended service to the Citizen’s Bank Operations Center carries a total of 39 outbound passengers
and 29 inbound passengers. This ridership includes 14 passengers who travel outbound to the Citizen’s
Bank Operations center, and 11 who travel inbound. The remaining riders travel to and from other stops
between Evergreen Apartments and the Citizen’s Bank Operation Center.
RIDERSHIP BY TRIP
Weekday Ridership by Trip
Ridership per trip on Route 34 is highest in the AM and PM peaks, which indicates that the route is
primarily used by commuters (see Figure 4). Early AM, midday, and evening ridership per trip is generally
less than half of peak period ridership. In more detail:
FIGURE 4 | WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP PER TRIP
60
50
Weekday
Inbound
Outbound
40
30
20
10
0
• Ridership starts low, at seven and nine passengers on the first two inbound trips, but 13 on the
first outbound trip. Higher ridership on the first outbound trip likely reflects work trips to the
Citizens Bank Operations Center.
• During the AM peak, ridership per trip generally ranges from 15 to 23 passengers, with fairly
balanced ridership in both directions.
• Ridership in both directions drops significantly after 8:00 AM to fewer than 15 passengers per
trip.
• Outbound ridership rises in the early afternoon, peaking during the 5:05 PM trip, when ridership
ranges from 15 to 26 passengers per trip. The peak for inbound ridership begins at the 2:55 PM
trip and continues through the 5:02 PM trip.
• After 7:00 PM, ridership decreases sharply, with some outbound trips carrying up to 10
passengers, but inbound trips fewer than half that.
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 5

Riders per Trip
Riders per Trip
5:26
5:57
6:01
6:32
6:38
7:17
7:20
8:00
8:05
8:45
8:48
9:28
9:35
10:09
10:10
10:44
10:52
11:27
11:31
12:06
12:10
12:45
12:49
13:24
13:28
14:03
14:07
14:42
14:55
15:30
15:32
16:15
16:22
17:02
17:05
17:45
17:56
18:34
18:35
19:05
19:43
20:14
20:50
21:21
21:59
22:30
6:20
6:56
7:30
8:06
8:40
9:16
9:50
10:26
11:00
11:36
12:10
12:46
13:20
13:56
14:30
15:06
15:40
16:16
16:50
17:26
18:00
18:36
19:10
Maximum loads per trip track closely with the pattern of ridership per trip, with most maximum loads
equaling between 80% and 90% of the total ridership on most trips (see Figure 5). Maximum loads are
less than 20 on all trips except one.
FIGURE 5 | WEEKDAY MAXIMUM LOAD PER TRIP
60
50
Weekday
Inbound
Outbound
40
30
20
10
0
Saturday Ridership by Trip
On Saturdays, inbound and outbound ridership is nearly equivalent for most of the day, with stronger
inbound ridership in the early and late morning and during mid-afternoon trips (see Figure 5). The midafternoon
trips show the highest ridership levels, with 20 passengers per inbound trip. Most trips carry
between 10 and 15 passengers.
FIGURE 6 | SATURDAY RIDERSHIP PER TRIP
60
50
Saturday
Inbound
Outbound
40
30
20
10
0
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 6

Riders per Trip
8:18
8:50
9:24
9:56
10:30
11:02
11:36
12:08
12:42
13:14
13:48
14:20
14:54
15:26
16:00
16:32
17:06
17:38
18:12
18:44
19:19
Sunday Ridership by Trip
Ridership on Sunday is low throughout the day (see Figure 7). The highest ridership is between 2:00 PM
and 4:00 PM when the route carries 11 to 14 passengers per trip. At other times, Route 34 carries 10 or
fewer passengers per trip.
FIGURE 7 | SUNDAY RIDERSHIP PER TRIP
30
25
Sunday
Inbound
Outbound
20
15
10
5
0
PERFORMANCE
Route 34 performs significantly below average. This is primarily due to low ridership, which produces low
performance in term of operating cost per passenger ($5.07, or 62% higher than the system average),
passengers per vehicle hour (19.2, or 42% below system average), and passengers per vehicle mile, which
is similarly low.
TABLE 4| PERFORMANCE MEASURES
PERFORMANCE MEASURE ROUTE 34 SYSTEM
AVERAGE
Operating Cost per Passenger $5.07 $3.12
Passengers per Revenue Vehicle Hour 19.2 33.2
Passengers per Revenue Vehicle Mile 1.5 2.5
Total Vehicle Hours per Revenue Vehicle Hour 1.04 1.1
Average Speed (mph) 12.8 13.4
Bus Stops per Mile 5.0 5.6
Performance data is from RIPTA.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Route 34 is a circuitous route that acts as a “fill-in” route to serve a number of small trip generators that
would otherwise be left unserved. Partly because of this, the route also serves a number of different
markets, which in order of size are:
The neighborhood along Warren Avenue in East Providence to downtown Providence.
Evergreen Apartments to Wampanoag Plaza and downtown Providence
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 7

Downtown Providence and Wampanoag Plaza (transfers from other routes) to the Citizens Bank Operations
Center.
The neighborhood along Warren Avenue in East Providence to Wampanoag Plaza.
Each of these markets is relatively small, and even combined, produce relatively low levels of ridership
and productivity.
In addition, the route provides infrequent service. On weekdays, service generally operates every 40
minutes, but evening trips operates 69 minutes apart. On weekends, service generally operates every 70
minutes on Saturdays and 66 minute on Sundays. Especially on weekends, service is too infrequent to
attract significant numbers of riders with other options.
SERVICE OPTIONS
There are a number of changes that could improve service and productivity:
• Reconfigure Inner Ends of Route 34 and Route 32 West Barrington: Routes 32 and 34
are both weak routes. One way to improve the directness of both and to continue service to higher
ridership areas would be to (see also Figure 8):
Operate Route 32 West Barrington via Broadway, Warren Avenue, and I-195 (with an
increase in Route 32 service levels to maintain a similar level of service along Warren
Avenue).
Operate Route 34 via Six Corners and Providence’s East Side.
FIGURE 8: POTENTIAL ROUTE 32 AND 34 INNER END RE-ROUTES
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 8

• Increase Peak Period Service Frequencies: Peak period service frequencies are
inconvenient at every 40 minutes. With the re-routing of service to be more direct, demand would
likely increase, and could potentially support service every 30 minutes.
• Operate Midday Service Every 30 Minutes Between Evergreen Apartments and
Wampanoag Plaza: Service could be provided every 30 minutes between Evergreen
Apartments and Wampanoag Plaza with one bus. This would improve midday service frequencies
from 40 minutes with the tradeoff that riders traveling to and from downtown or other
destinations would need to transfer to another route at Wampanoag Plaza.
• End Weekday Service at 7:00 PM: Weekday ridership drops to an average of six passengers
per trip after 7:00 PM, which is very low. A reduction in evening service could be used to improve
peak period service.
• Operate Evening Service Every 30 Minutes Between Evergreen Apartments and
Wampanoag Plaza: Alternatively, evening service could be operated as a 30 minute shuttle in
the same manner as described above for midday service.
• Operate Weekend Service Every 30 Minutes Between Evergreen Apartments and
Wampanoag Plaza: In the same manner as described above for midday service, weekend
service could be provided as a shuttle between Evergreen Apartments and Wampanoag Plaza. In
this case, service frequencies could be improved from every 66 to 70 minutes to every 30 minutes.
• Discontinue Sunday Service: Sunday ridership is very low, and averages only 8 riders per
trip, and could be discontinued to provide resources for improvements elsewhere.
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. | 9