Dec. 21 was the opening day of a free ferry between Bristol and Providence. The state started the temporary service to help ease traffic following the closure of the I-195 Bridge connecting the east bay and Providence.
It was a brisk but still dawn in Providence as the first passengers filtered off the first boat on the first day of free ferry service between Bristol and Providence. Most people are rushing to work, but Carla Ciampanelli is happy to talk.
“It was a smooth 38-minute ride or thereabouts,” she said. “And it was totally fantastic. I’m going shopping in Federal Hill to the food shops and the gift stores.”
The ferry service, managed by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, runs 7 days a week, every half hour from 6 am to 7 pm. During morning and afternoon rush hour in Bristol, passengers can park for free at Colt State Park and take a shuttle bus to the ferry dock on State Street in Bristol. Parking at the ferry dock at India Point Park in Providence is free, and there is a RIPTA shuttle service that stops at Kennedy Plaza.
From 6am through noon on Thursday, just 35 passengers rode the ferry in either direction between Bristol and Providence, but many of those who did were enthusiastic. Like Nick Toth, a city planner for Bristol.
“I’m really excited that they’re starting this up,” he said as he walked off the ferry in Bristol. “It was beautiful. I watched the sunrise over the water instead of staring at someone’s tail lights for 45 minutes, and I’m going to watch the sunset over the water instead of staring at someone’s tail lights for an hour and a half. The only thing missing’s a fishing pole.”
Derrik Trombley lives in Warren and took the fourth ferry of the day to Providence. He normally drives to his job in policy at the statehouse, which he says takes him about an hour. He says this ferry is getting Rhode Islanders back to their roots.
“Rhode Island has a history of shipbuilding and providing sailors and marines and people who have, you know, spent their time and lives on the water,” Trombley said.
Trombley says he wishes the ferry wasn’t just temporary. When the state first announced last week that it would add a free ferry service, it said the ferries would run through March. Now, RIDOT says that traffic between the East Bay and Providence is continuing to improve due to bypass lines it added to the still-open section of the Washington Bridge, and that it is likely to shut down the service early. It has hired ferries operated by 3 companies, but the contracts each say the state can terminate the service with two weeks notice.
Liza Burkin with the Providence Streets Coalition is a big advocate of public transportation, calling it more sustainable than travel in individual vehicles. She says she wishes the state had done a better job seizing the opportunity of the bridge closure.
“It’s a good start,” she said. “I think that there’s a lot more that the department could be doing to promote different choices, and alternatives.”
Burkin says the state should also cover bus fares over the bridges that are open during the Washington Bridge westbound lane closure, direct people to lots where they can park and ride their bikes over the bridge, and encourage carpooling.
Rhode Island has set goals to reduce its emissions by 45% by the year 2030. Last month, state Attorney General Peter Neronha took aim at RIDOT’s plan to help cut emissions. In a press release, his office called it “unambitious in its goals, and ultimately risks wasting millions of dollars of federal funds.”
All in all with the shuttle buses, the ride from Bristol to Providence took a little over an hour on Thursday. Trombley, the employee headed to the statehouse, had a wind-whipped rosiness to his face as the journey concluded.
“How do you like that? No traffic, less gas money. And no frustration. And I’m here in the same amount of time. Nothing but open skies and open seas,” he said.
RIDOT says it will monitor ridership and end the free ferry service early if passenger numbers are low. The service can cost the state as much as $50,700 each day, not including fuel or barge costs. The state is hoping to get that reimbursed through federal funding or grants. But for now, the cost of the ferry is coming out of the state’s transportation budget.
