Politics & Government

Legislators Request RIPTA Service To Mass

Local legislators are asking for a waiver of insurance for RIPTA for interstate travel between Rhode Island and Massachusetts as the agency is considering restoring service to Tiverton.

As the the Island Public Transit Authority is considering restoring bus service to Tiverton for the first time since 2008, four local legislators are asking for a waiver of insurance for Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) to allow interstate travel between Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Four local legislators representing five communities across Newport and Bristol counties sent a letter to the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, requesting their assistance in allowing RIPTA to receive the waiver.

The letter comes days after RIPTA held a meeting with Tiverton and Little Compton residents discussing the return of bus service to the area. Service was discontinued in 2008 after a weight limit was imposed on the old Sakonnet River Bridge.

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During the meeting, which was attended by about 45 residents, RIPTA Assistant General Manager Mark Thierrien identified four service options were the agency to restore services to Tiverton and Little Compton, reports The Sakonnet Times. He identified as a cross-border route to Tiverton as the one of highest demand.

Federal regulations (by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration), and insurance requirements (of a policy with a $10 million liability minimum), make cross-border public transit impossible as RIPTA self-insured, making such a policy cost-prohibitive.

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The waiver that local legislators are seeking would sidestep those regulations and requirements.

Representatives John G. Edwards (D-Dist. 70, Portsmouth, Tiverton) and Dennis M. Canario (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Little Compton, Tiverton), as well as Senators Christopher S. Ottiano (R-Dist. 11, Portsmouth, Bristol) and Walter S. Felag Jr. (D-Dist. 10, Warren, Bristol, Tiverton), have been engaging in discussions with RIPTA for the past year with the hope that the authority would return services to Tiverton.

When the new Sakonnet River Bridge opened in September, RIPTA had already been studying its options for restoring service to Tiverton for about a year. Budget constraints and the historically low ridership of service lines to Tiverton limit the scope of service RIPTA would offer.

Local legislators speculate that a bus route with service to Fall River shopping destinations would prove to be a profitable East Bay line.

“RIPTA, as you are aware, is self-insured. For them to carry insurance beyond their own would be cost prohibitive and would effectively kill any sort of connection to the SRTA system. The staff at RIPTA has told us that they would only drive into Fall River MA for approximately a half mile to make the connection and turn around their buses,” state the legislators' letter to the state Congressional delegation.

In September, Rep. Edwards sent a letter to RIPTA Chairman Scott Avedisian – also the mayor of Warwick – expressing his concern about the lack of RIPTA’s presence in his district, pointing out that public transportation and infrastructure is a crucial “instrument of job growth” and benefits other areas of importance like “education, daycare and general livability.” 

Tiverton's Other RIPTA Options:

  • "The Cadillac" - a new bus route to north Tiverton via Main Road over to Fish Road (possibly via Warren Avenue or Souza Road), then continuing to Portsmouth via Route #24 and connect to bus route 60. It would operate every 45 minutes all day between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
  • "The Flex" - This route would run between Sandywoods and north Tiverton and have hourly stops at the Fish Road park and ride lot then connect to Portsmouth and possibly the south end of Bristol. It would also run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
  • "RIPTA Ride" - This route would provide service similar to what RIPTA operated before the bridge closing. It would run two bus trips from Tiverton’s Fish Road park-and-ride lot to Portsmouth.


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