Comprehensive Route Evaluation
ROUTE 6 | PRAIRIE/RWP ZOO
ROUTE OVERVIEW
Route 6 Prairie Avenue/RWP Zoo operates
between the Roger Williams Park Zoo and
Kennedy Plaza. It is a route designed to
serve both tourists and local residents and
is operated with replica trolley buses.
FIGURE 1 | ROUTE MAP
Route 6 serves the following areas, activity
centers, and transit facilities:
Areas

South Side

Jewelry District

Downtown Providence
Activity Centers

Roger Williams Park

Roger Williams Park Zoo

Colony House

CCRI-Providence Liston Campus

Rhode Island Hospital

Woman and Infants Hospital

Providence Public Library
Transit Centers

Kennedy Plaza
ALIGNMENT AND
SERVICE PATTERNS
Most Route 6 trips operate between the
Roger Williams Park Zoo and Kennedy
Plaza along the alignment shown in Figure
1. The route’s alignment is somewhat
circuitous to provide “front door” service to
CCRI, Woman and Infants Hospital, and
the zoo. Exceptions to the route’s normal
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operation between the zoo and Kennedy Plaza area as follows:

On all days, before the zoo is open and after it closes, service operates to and from Colony House
instead of the zoo.

On weekdays, two morning and two afternoon trips stop at Colony House only upon request en
route to the zoo.
TABLE 1| SERVICE VARIANTS
VARIANT
ORIGIN
DESTINATION
UNIQUE FEATURE
INBOUND
D4V1P2
R. W. Park/Zoo
Kennedy Plaza
D4V2P1
Colony House
Kennedy Plaza
D4V2P2
R. W. Park/Zoo
Kennedy Plaza
Primary variant
via Colony House
OUTBOUND
D5V1P2
Kennedy Plaza
R. W. Park/Zoo
D5V2P1
Kennedy Plaza
Colony House
D5V2P2
Kennedy Plaza
R. W. Park/Zoo
Primary variant
Colony House upon
request
TRIPS PER DAY
WEEKDAY
SAT
SUN
22
20
9
13
17
9
6
3
–
3
–
–
23
22
9
12
17
9
7
5
–
4
–
–
SIMILAR ROUTES AND TRANSFER OPPORTUNITIES
Route 6 provides generally unique service to the area between Routes 1 Eddy/Gaspee and 3 Warwick
Avenue, but there is some overlap between the three routes, as many passengers served by Route 6 are
also within walking distance of Routes 1 and 3.
As with most RIPTA routes, Route 9 operates to and from Kennedy Plaza, where connections can be made
with most other RIPTA routes. In addition, transfers can be made with Route 11 Broad St on Broad Street
between Cass Street and Prairie Avenue.
SCHEDULE
Weekday service operates inbound from 6:26 AM to 6:36 AM and outbound from 6:50 PM to 7:00 PM
(see Table 2). Between 8:30 AM and 4:16 PM, service operates between to and from the zoo, and before
TABLE 2 | SCHEDULE SUMMARY
SERVICE DAY
SPAN OF SERVICE
ONE-WAY TRIPS
IB
OB
HEADWAY
(MIN)
WEEKDAY
6:26 AM – 7:00 PM
22
23
25-60
Early AM
6:26 AM – 6:59 AM
1
1
50
AM Peak
7:00 AM – 8:59 AM
2
2
50
Midday
9:00 AM – 2:59 PM
13
13
28-34
PM Peak
3:00 PM – 5:59 PM
5
5
25-56
Night
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
1
2
60
SATURDAY
8:30 AM – 7:08 PM
20
22
25-54
SUNDAY
8:30 AM – 4:19 PM
17
17
28
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.
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and after that time it operates to Colony House. Most service operates every 28 minutes, but some trips
are spaced from 25 to 60 minutes apart.
On Saturdays, inbound service operates from 9:00 AM to 6:44 PM and outbound from 8:30 AM to 7:08
PM. Service before 4:25 PM operates to and from the zoo and later service operates to and from Colony
House. Most service operates every 28 minutes, but some trips are spaced from 25 to 54 minutes apart.
On Sundays, inbound service operates from 8:59 AM to 4:19 PM, and outbound from 8:30 AM to 3:50
PM. All service operates to and from the zoo. All service operates every 28 minutes.
RIDERSHIP
Route 6 carries 477 passengers on weekdays, 264 on Saturdays, and 100 on Sundays (see Table 3). In
terms of weekday ridership, Route 6 ranks 39 out of 54 routes. Ridership is generally low throughout the
day on all days, and averages only 10.1 passengers per trip on weekdays, 5.7 on Saturdays, and 3.0 on
Sundays.
TABLE 3 | RIDERSHIP BY TIME PERIOD
SERVICE DAY
IB
OB
RIDERSHIP
TOTAL
IB
RIDERSHIP PER TRIP RIDERSHIP PER TIME PERIOD HOUR
OB
TOTAL
IB
OB
TOTAL
WEEKDAY
240
237
477
10.4
9.8
10.1
19
19
37
Early AM
7
3
10
7.1
3.4
5.3
13
20
18
AM Peak
21
40
61
10.3
16.9
13.1
11
20
31
Midday
149
130
279
11.1
9.8
10.4
25
22
47
PM Peak
55
47
102
10.3
9.6
9.9
18
16
34
8
17
25
7.9
7.3
7.5
9
13
19
130
134
264
5.7
5.6
5.7
13
12
24
46
54
100
2.7
3.2
3.0
6
7
12
Night
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Performance information is based on data from RIPTA.
WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP BY STOP
Most ridership on Route 6 is between CCRI and Kennedy Plaza (see Figures 3 and 4). Other significant
locations include Roger Williams Park Zoo, Colony House, and near the hospitals. In more detail, and on
inbound trips:

21 passengers board at Roger Williams Zoo.

14 passengers board at Colony House

90 passengers board and one alight at CCRI.

24 passengers board and three alight on Prairie Avenue near Providence Street, which is the stop
that serves Woman and Infants Hospital.

15 passengers board at Pilgrim Street at The Met.

7 passengers board and 9 alight on Washington Street at Greene Street in downtown.

202 passengers, or 86% of all passengers, alight at Kennedy Plaza.
All other stops serve fewer than ten boardings and alightings. In total, though no segments have
particularly strong ridership, the inner portion of the route between CCRI and Kennedy Plaza has twothirds more ridership than the outer portion.
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Weekday Inbound
240
Colony House
200
192
150
Ons
144
Offs
Loads
100
96
0
0
Prairie Far Side Broad
Prairie @ Roger Williams…
Prairie Opposite 571 Prairie
Prairie Near Side Colfax
Prairie Far Side Gallup
Prairie Far Side Oxford
Prairie Far Side Sayles
Prairie @ 384 Prairie
Prairie @ Saratoga
Public Between Hilton & Milk
Pilgrim @ The Met School
Staniford @ Ccri Entrance
Gay Near Side Dudley
Gay @ Women & Infants…
Prairie Near Side Providence
Prairie Near Side Point
Point Between Beacon & …
East Franklin Near Side…
East Franklin Near Side…
East Franklin Near Side…
Washington Near Side…
Kennedy Plaza @ Trolley…
48
Sackett Far Side Broad
Cadillac Opposite Rodman
Early Near Side Broad
50
Hawthorne @ Zoo Entrance
Hawthorne Opposite Tennis…
Broad Far Side Cass
Broad @ Prairie
Broad Far Side Early
Ons and Offs by Stop
250
RIDERSHIP BY TRIP
Load: Passengers On-Board Between Stops
FIGURE 2 | WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP BY STOP
FIGURE 3 | WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP BY STOP
MAP
Weekday Ridership by Trip
On weekdays, Route 6 averages only 10.1 passengers per trip,
and ridership ranges between eight and 13 passengers for most
of the day (see Figure 4). However, there are two significant
exceptions, which are the 8:30 AM outbound trip that carries
29 passengers and the 3:16 PM inbound trips that carries 22
passengers. High ridership on the 8:30 AM trip is to CCRI, and
high ridership inbound on the 3:16 PM trip is from The Met.
The large majority of all passengers (86%) travel to and from
Kennedy Plaza, and as a result, maximum loads are very close
to total ridership per trip. On a day-to-days basis, maximum
loads are very low on all trips. The only exception is the 8:30
AM outbound trip, where maximum loads average 27 but have
occasionally be observed to be as high as 50.
Saturday Ridership by Trip
Saturday ridership per trip averages only 5.7, and all trips carry
11 or fewer passengers (see Figure 5). Ridership after 5:22 PM
is extremely low, at fewer than five passengers per trip.
Sunday Ridership by Trip
Sunday ridership per trip averages only 3.0 passengers per trip.
All trips carry fewer than 10 passengers, and most carry fewer
than five (see Figure 6).
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0
Sunday
16:28
50
16:00
6:26
6:50
7:16
7:40
8:06
8:30
9:00
9:00
9:30
9:34
10:00
10:02
10:28
10:30
10:56
10:58
11:24
11:26
11:52
11:54
12:20
12:22
12:48
12:50
13:16
13:18
13:44
13:46
14:12
14:16
14:42
14:42
15:12
15:16
15:42
15:42
16:12
16:16
16:42
16:43
17:07
17:39
18:03
18:36
19:00
Riders per Trip
Weekday
15:58
50
15:32
50
15:30
Saturday
15:04
15:02
14:36
14:34
14:08
14:06
13:40
13:38
13:12
13:10
12:44
12:42
12:16
12:14
11:48
11:46
11:20
11:18
10:52
10:50
10:24
10:22
9:56
9:54
9:28
60
9:26
0
9:00
60
8:30
8:58
9:00
9:26
9:28
9:54
9:56
10:22
10:24
10:50
10:52
11:18
11:20
11:46
11:48
12:14
12:16
12:42
12:44
13:10
13:12
13:38
13:40
14:06
14:08
14:34
14:36
15:02
15:04
15:30
15:32
15:58
16:00
16:26
16:28
16:54
16:58
17:22
17:26
17:50
17:52
18:16
18:18
18:42
18:44
19:08
0
8:58
Riders per Trip
60
8:30
Riders per Trip
FIGURE 4 | WEEKDAY RIDERSHIP PER TRIP
Inbound
Outbound
40
30
20
10
FIGURE 5| SATURDAY RIDERSHIP PER TRIP
Inbound
Outbound
40
30
20
10
FIGURE 6 | SUNDAY RIDERSHIP PER TRIP
Inbound
Outbound
40
30
20
10
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PERFORMANCE
As described above, Route 6’s ridership per trip is very low. In addition, the total number of passengers
carried per revenue vehicle hour is 35% below average. However, due to the route’s short length, the
number of passengers per vehicle mile is slightly above average, and the route’s cost per passenger is only
25% above average. However, when all factors are considered together, and especially in terms of
passengers per trip and revenue vehicle hour, the route’s performance is marginal, at best.
TABLE 4| PERFORMANCE MEASURES
PERFORMANCE MEASURE
Operating Cost per Passenger
Passengers per Revenue Vehicle Hour
Passengers per Revenue Vehicle Mile
ROUTE 6
SYSTEM
AVERAGE
$3.88
$3.12
21.7
33.2
2.7
2.5
1.02
1.1
Average Speed (mph)
7.9
13.4
Bus Stops per Mile
7.3
5.6
Total Vehicle Hours per Revenue Vehicle Hour
Performance data is from RIPTA.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Route 6 has very low ridership per trip and low ridership per revenue vehicle hour. This is largely because
Route 6 provides service to a relatively small area in between those served by Routes 1 Eddy/Gaspee and 3
Warwick Avenue, which are two of RIPTA’s stronger routes. Thus, for riders not traveling to or from a
location directly served by Route 6, those routes generally provide a better option.
Route 6 was also originally designed to serve tourists as well as residents, and is operated with replica
trolley buses to better appeal to that market. However, given that ridership to the zoo is so low, there is
little indication that the route does successfully attract tourists (and the passenger survey results,
although conducted in September, also indicate that the route carries very few visitors).
SERVICE OPTIONS
Service options for Route 6 include:

Adjust Schedules to Operate with Consistent Frequencies: Most trips are spaced 28
minutes apart, which results in a schedule that is very difficult to remember. Schedules could be
made much easier for passengers to remember by spacing all trips 30 minutes apart.

Extend Service to Providence Station: Route 6 currently has 16 minutes of layover in its
schedule, and with a shift to 30 minutes, layover times would increase to 18 minutes. This
addition time could be used to extend service to the train station to provide connecting service
with MBTA commuter rail and Amtrak.

Extend Service to College Hill: Instead of extending service to Providence Station, service
could be extended to the top of the tunnel on College Hill, which is a strong visitor destination.

Operate Service via the Jewelry District: Instead of operating service along East Franklin
Street (inbound) and the Service Road (outbound) where few passengers board Route 6, service
could be directed along Point Street and in and out of Kennedy Plaza via Richmond, Eddy and
Dorrance streets. This would relocate service from the service roads, which are already wellserved, and create a stronger transit corridor through the Jewelry District
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
Straighten Service along Prairie Avenue: CCRI is the major ridership generator on Route 6,
but the current route configuration to the campus is circuitous. One possible reconfiguration
would be for buses to enter and exit through CCRI's north gate on Blackstone Avenue
(improvements and changes to the parking lot and Blackstone Ave would be needed for this to be
feasible). Additionally, since The Met is also a higher ridership location, buses could also enter
CCRI as they do now but then exit through the north gate and travel west on Blackstone Avenue
to Prairie Avenue. This option would also require changes and improvements to Blackstone
Avenue and the CCRI parking lot.

Reduce Weekday Service Levels: As described above, weekday ridership per trip is very low.
A better match between demand and service levels could be to operate peak period service every
30 minutes and midday service every 60 minutes.

Discontinue Weekend Service: Although Route 6 was originally designed, in part, to serve
visitors, it is not successful in this respect, and weekend ridership is very low. Weekend service
could be discontinued to provide resources to make improvements in areas where demand is
higher.

Reduce Weekend Service Levels: Alternatively, rather than discontinuing weekend service,
service frequencies could be reduced to every 60 minutes throughout the day.
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