RIPTA will begin its series of public hearings regarding changes to service tomorrow in Barrington. The hearings are designed to gather public input on the changes to present to the Board of Directors along with the proposal. Hearings in Warwick will take place at City Hall on June 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In total, according to a posting on RIPTA’s website, 56 regular bus routes and all Park and Ride services have proposed changes stemming from RIPTA’s Comprehensive Operational Analysis.

As a result of changes to fixed routes, RIDE service will need to be altered in some areas. Per regulations, the paratransit ADA service is provided to a quarter-mile corridor around fixed routes.

“We are in the process of using our software to map [new RIDE availability],” said Amy Pettine, director of planning and marketing at RIPTA. “There will be some impacts, but we will know more in the coming weeks.”

Here is a summary of how some proposed changes could affect Warwick, according to RIPTA’s “Summary of Recommended Changes” on their website.

Under the proposed changes, Route 1 Eddy/Gaspee would become known as Route 1 Hope/Eddy, combining service with current Route 42 and Route 77. As a result, that route would no longer service Narragansett Parkway, but instead operate along Post Road. This is an attempt to make trips faster and more direct.

Route 1 service would also shift from Broad Street to Post Road to make service between Norwood Avenue and Post Road faster. Finally, the southern portion of the route would be extended to T.F. Green Airport. That route would operate short trips every 15 minutes between the Pawtuxet Transit Center and the Shaw’s on Warwick Avenue; the full trip would occur every 30 minutes.

Route 3 Warwick covers service to Narragansett Parkway lost due to proposed Route 1 changes. The Oakland Beach branch of the route would be rerouted via Narragansett Parkway and Broad Street. Service would be provided on this route every 20 minutes during peak hours and every 40 minutes during off-peak hours. It would operate until 11 p.m.

Also, Route 3 would no longer provide front-door service to Rhode Island Hospital; that would become part of Route 1’s trip.

Route 8 Jefferson Boulevard would discontinue service; changes to Route 14 and Route 29 would cover the area.

Route 13 Artic/Washington Street would provide service from Woodland Manor in Coventry to the newly proposed Warwick Mall Transit Center, operating as what RIPTA calls a feeder route. That service would run every 30 minutes during peak hours and 60 minutes off-peak.

According to RIPTA documents, Route 14 West Bay service has been “greatly simplified.” The route would operate as is between Narragansett and Centerville Road but, from there, provide service on Jefferson Boulevard to I-95 to downtown Providence.

This route would also no longer provide service in and out of T.F. Green Airport in an effort to save time. Instead, the route would have a stop at the Interlink station.

Route 14 service would also be scheduled to start earlier and end later.

Schedule changes would allow Route 20 Elmwood Ave/Airport to provide short trips from the Price Rite on Post Road to downtown Providence every 15 minutes and longer trips to the airport every 30 minutes.

Route 21 Reservoir/CCRI would be upgraded to Key Corridor service and “provide frequent and faster service between CCRI Warwick and downtown Providence” through Rhode Island Mall, new Warwick Mall Transit Center and Pastore Center. That service would run every 15 minutes during the day, every 30 minutes at night and run until 11 p.m.

Route 22 Pontiac Avenue would be straightened to operate between Warwick Mall and downtown Providence to provide regular headways of 30 minutes during the day and an hour at night.

Route 29 Kent County would be reconfigured in two ways. The western end would be reworked so service would operate to and from the Artic Center. Service from the Artic Center and Toll Gate Road would shift to Main Street, Legris Avenue/Centerville Road and Bald Hill Road.

On the other side, the eastern end would realign to operate through Buttonwoods, making up for the loss of Route 8.

A full schedule of all 12 public hearings can be found at www.ripta.com/featuredproject. If you cannot attend a hearing but would like to submit your feedback, send an email with your comments to customerrelations@ripta.com by June 7.

A link to documents detailing all proposed RIPTA changes from routes to marketing, including a detailed map, can also be found on www.ripta.com/featuredproject.