iandavid t1_jd9h484 wrote on March 22, 2023 at 8:03 PM

RIPTA route 14 serves Narragansett Town Beach every 2 hours. (The schedule may change before the summer season.) Bus fare is cheaper than parking and you don’t have to drive.

eastcoastflava13 t1_jd9id2g wrote on March 22, 2023 at 8:11 PM

Love advice like this. It's like RI inside baseball.

iandavid t1_jd9iz7s wrote on March 22, 2023 at 8:15 PM

I wish it was less of a secret! I also wish it ran more frequently than every two hours.

yeehawkalian OP t1_jddmu5i wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:17 PM

I tried that last year but it took like 2.5 hrs instead of what is a 45 min car ride

iandavid t1_jddo8bt wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:26 PM

Cheaper doesn’t mean faster, unfortunately. It’s a local route, so it makes a bunch of stops along the way. That said, it’s scheduled to take an hour and 20 minutes to get to the beach from Kennedy Plaza, which is longer than driving but not as long as you experienced. Did your bus hit extra traffic along the way?

It’s worth noting that 45 minutes from Providence is also a fairly optimistic drive time during the summer season.

pastabaniana t1_jda7ksi wrote on March 22, 2023 at 10:59 PM

The RIPTA would be the perfect answer if Rhode Island had a respectable public transportation system.

iandavid t1_jdad4bf wrote on March 22, 2023 at 11:37 PM

The service we do have is surprisingly decent. It runs on time and buses are clean. We just need better routes around the city and higher service frequencies. Both of which are included in the state’s transit master plan, which has been approved but not yet funded by the legislature. So if you want a respectable public transportation system, please let your reps know.