The movement of Peter Pan and Greyhound bus service in Providence away from Kennedy Plaza to a location across from the Rhode Island Convention Center was cast by officials as an improvement.
It will move an average of 45 weekday trips further away from the historic pedestrian plaza, a first step in reducing what critics have described as an overwhelming presence of buses at the site.
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, which recently announced the change, said ticket sales for the private carriers also will move to the convention center, which has agreed to allow patrons to wait inside for their buses.
The location, at Sabin Street, is a short distance from Kennedy Plaza but in effect creates a third hub for mass transit in downtown Providence.
Providence Station serves commuters using the MBTA and Amtrak trains, while Kennedy Plaza is the statewide hub for all RIPTA buses.
What happened to the promise of one hub, a central location for transit? Two years after state voters authorized up to $35 million for one, state officials say they remain committed to its development under a public-private partnership.
Last summer, that process began with a Request for Qualifications from interested developers. A month ago, the R.I. Department of Transportation announced it would reboot the plan and incorporate more-specific design information. The amount of changes was such that it was advised to start the process anew.
Under a public-private partnership, or P3, the public dollars will be reserved for the transit hub, but a private entity will build it and invest its own dollars in transit-friendly, mixed-use development.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, speaking to reporters on May 16, reaffirmed her commitment to a public-private approach, intended to leverage the state’s $35 million and attract private development.
“I am still committed to it. It’s still the right thing to do,” she said.
Initially, RIDOT had indicated it would assist developers in assembling the land needed for redevelopment. Most of the parcels identified by the state last year in its initial RFQ are privately owned.
Since then, the state has homed in on a preferred location but has not identified it. The location will be identified in the RFQ, now planned for a spring reissuance.
This would put the award of a development contract at the end of the year, with construction beginning in the fall of 2018, according to Charles St. Martin, a RIDOT spokesman. This was the original timeline, he said, in an emailed message.
Once the hub is completed, the assumption is the private carriers, Greyhound and Peter Pan, will join other buses and make the move to the area of Providence Station.
“We are still pursuing a P3 for a robust, highly successful project for a new transit center and associated transit-oriented development,” he said.
