May 11, 2023
Press Releases
ADA Paratransit Service Also Expands to Foster
Last month, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) began serving the rural town of Foster. Route 10X (North Scituate Park-N-Ride) has been extended to serve a new Park-N-Ride lot in Foster, located across from the Foster Police Department on 182 Howard Hill Road. Route 10X makes a weekday morning departure from the new Park-N-Ride lot at 7:00am, arriving in Downtown Providence (Bus Stop X) at 7:48am. Click here for the full schedule.
“RIPTA has been great throughout this entire process,” said House Minority Leader Michael W. Chippendale. “I thank Scott Avedisian, Ed Brown (RIPTA’s Director of Service Planning and Scheduling) and everyone from RIPTA for making this happen.”
“Access to public transportation is an important driver in economic growth,” said Senate Minority Whip Gordon E. Rogers. “This expansion will benefit current residents and attract newcomers to our rural community. I am thankful to all involved in the process that made this happen.”
Foster residents interested in learning more about the service or applying for a RIPTA Photo ID Bus Pass for seniors and people with disabilities, are encouraged to attend the Senior & Caregiver Resource Fair on Thursday, June 8 from 4pm to 6pm at the Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School, 160 Foster Center Road in Foster. RIPTA transit ambassadors will be on-site to provide travel training and process bus pass applications.
“As we continue to expand transit service to underserved areas, we are simultaneously enhancing accessibility for people with disabilities,” said Scott Avedisian, RIPTA CEO. “Because this Route 10X service expansion is to a new area, RIPTA paratransit service is also expanding to Foster, thus improving mobility choices for this population.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures that people with disabilities, who cannot use the regular fixed-route bus, have access to public transportation. RIPTA’s RIde paratransit program is designed to meet these requirements by providing service within a ¾-mile corridor mile of a fixed-route during the same hours the bus operates.
RIPTA previously provided bus service to Foster via a Park-N-Ride lot on Danielson Pike. That service ran until 2006, when the property was sold, and the bus stop was removed. RIPTA was unable to successfully find another Park-N-Ride lot until recently. With the help of House Minority Leader Michael W. Chippendale, Senator Gordon E. Rogers and town officials, a lot on Howard Hill Road was cleared for this new transit service.