Providence Scraps Streetcar Plans in Favor of an 'Enhanced' Bus Line

Citing the drastically reduced costs of a bus line, the city of Providence is hoping to replace its proposed streetcar line with the Providence Enhanced Bus Circulator. The new proposal requires federal funding to display a similar flexibility.

January 13, 2016, 7am PST | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

"The end of the line has come for Providence's downtown streetcar plan," according to an article by Patrick Anderson. "Dogged by cost and ridership concerns since it was first proposed nearly 10 years ago by then-Mayor David Cicilline, the proposed streetcar has been abandoned in favor of an "enhanced bus" line along the same route…"

Anderson reports on the lack of political support at the state and the local level for the streetcar plan before turning to the Providence Enhanced Bus Circulator project that will take its place. The goal is to have the bus plan included in the state of Rhode Island's upcoming ten-year transportation plan. Federal funding intended for streetcar will need to be cleared for the bus plan. Providence Planning Director Bonnie Nickerson is cited in the article saying, "city officials would be meeting with representatives of the Federal Transit Administration over the next month to make sure they can change the scope of the project without losing the streetcar funding."

Full Story:

Providence abandons streetcar plan for new bus line

Published on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 in Providence Journal