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COA Project Documents (2013)

RIPTA has conducted an in-depth review of all our transit services as part of a Comprehensive Operational Analysis (COA).  The study has performed a detailed evaluation of our system to identify where people live and work, how each bus route is performing today, and where changes might possibly be made to better serve riders. Technical documents produced over the course of the study are posted below.

Recommended Changes

As a result of the COA, proposed changes have been identified for each route.  These changes are designed to work within RIPTA’s existing budget and to direct transit resources where they would be most effective.  They include proposed new routes and express services, scheduling improvements to better coordinate routes operating in the same corridor, modified route alignments, frequency changes to better match service with demand, and the discontinuation of certain routes and route segments. You may view these changes by clicking on your route below.

Project Fact Sheets

 Other Project Documents

    • Public Involvement Plan: a description of how RIPTA plans to gather public input for the COA study.
    • RIPTA Market Review: a detailed review of land use, population, employment and other conditions throughout RI. The findings of this report will help us better understand where transit services are most needed.
    • Stakeholder Input:  a summary of stakeholder input collected from more than 20 public, private and non-profit stakeholder groups over the summer of 2012. Individuals (or groups of individuals) were interviewed by the COA team and asked to identify which parts of RIPTA’s system are working best today, and whether there are changes that could be made to make the system more effective.
    • RIPTA Service Guidelines: This document represents an update to RIPTA Service Guidelines to reorient RIPTA routes around a “family of services.” Minimum guidelines for service level and performance are established for each type of route. These new guidelines were adopted by RIPTA’s Board of Directors in December 2012.
    • Passenger Survey Results:  We surveyed more than 25% of our daily passengers in August and September 2012, collecting information about individual travel needs, transfers and fare payment.  Results are summarized for each individual RIPTA route, and on a systemwide basis for both fixed routes and Flex services.
  • Overview of Service Scenarios: Using many of the project documents and findings listed above, RIPTA has developed a series of potential changes to routes throughout our system.  This document identifies some of the key themes and ideas that are being considered on most routes.
  • Overview of Potential Changes: This document describes the key themes and ideas behind the final recommendations.
  • Summary of Recommendations: This document summarizes changes recommended to improve RIPTA service. For more detail on these changes, see the detailed route-by-route descriptions that will soon be posted on our site, and the Metro Area and statewide maps of the proposed changes. Following public hearings in May and June of 2013, RIPTA will seek Board approval to begin implementation of these recommendations. Changes will be phased into the system over a two-year period.

Advisory Committee Meetings