For the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), modernizing its paratransit fleet meant finding a vehicle that could improve accessibility and reliability while responding to growing demand. The agency found its answer in the purpose-built, Low-Floor Frontrunner Minibus.
RIPTA has ordered 50 Frontrunner vehicles, with some still arriving as the agency replaces an aging fleet and expands its ability to provide paratransit and Flex service. According to Christopher Durand, CEO of RIPTA, the decision grew from challenges familiar to transit agencies nationwide: aging cutaways, lengthy procurement cycles and changing vehicle availability.
“I think it started with the difficulty industry-wide when cutaways were difficult to get,” Durand said. “Through all of that, our fleet had aged. Our riders had grown. And we realized that we needed something different and better.”
Testing a different approach
The Frontrunner is designed as a purpose-built low-floor minibus rather than a conventional high-floor cutaway. Previous BUSRide coverage has detailed the vehicle’s lightweight composite construction, lowered-floor chassis and available four-corner air suspension. The kneeling system can lower the vehicle for easier boarding, while a fold-out ramp replaces the traditional mechanical wheelchair lift.
RIPTA took a hands-on approach to evaluating the Frontrunner, placing a demonstration vehicle into service and experiencing its benefits firsthand.
“We actually put it in service for a few weeks, let our drivers operate it in service and get some feedback,” Durand said. “We brought it in for some of our riders to take a look at and kick the tires on it. The response was overwhelmingly positive from everyone who interacted with the vehicle.”
John Chadwick, chief administration officer at RIPTA, said passenger and operator response was the agency’s most important consideration during the evaluation. Drivers used the demonstration vehicle in regular service, giving RIPTA an opportunity to see how the Frontrunner performed in real-world operations.
“With the Frontrunner, it was fairly unanimous that they just really liked driving that type of vehicle,” Chadwick said. That preference has continued as more Frontrunner buses have entered RIPTA’s fleet. Given a choice between a traditional cutaway and a Frontrunner, Chadwick said operators overwhelmingly prefer the Frontrunner.
Accessibility from the ground up
That acceptance is particularly important for an agency serving passengers with diverse mobility requirements.
The Frontrunner’s low-floor architecture is designed to simplify boarding by eliminating the mechanical lift associated with conventional cutaways. Its spacious interior and low-floor ramp are intended to accommodate ambulatory passengers and mobility devices through the same entrance.
For RIPTA, those design choices have translated directly to the passenger and operator experience.
“One of the biggest complaints we previously heard from operators was having the space that if they bring in someone in a wheelchair onto the vehicle, having the space to get them into the vehicle, get them strapped down properly, and make sure that they’re safe,” Durand said.
The Frontrunner’s additional interior space has made that process easier, he said, while giving riders greater confidence in their securement and safety. Passengers have also responded positively to the vehicle’s glass area, visibility and more open interior.
Chadwick highlighted another fundamental difference: eliminating the entry steps found on typical cutaway vehicles. Instead of requiring passengers to navigate multiple steps when boarding, the Frontrunner’s low-floor design provides a much easier and more intuitive entry experience for all riders. RIPTA also specified kneeling capability on its Frontrunners, allowing the vehicle to lower at the curb and provide wheelchair users and passengers with limited mobility easy access into the cabin. The combination of low-floor architecture, kneeling suspension, and a simple fold-out ramp helps speed boarding, improve passenger safety, and reduce physical demands on operators.
“Our drivers love the operation of the manual ramp and its ease of use,” he said. “Just so much to like about it, quite honestly.”
Reliability and responsiveness
Fleet condition was another driving factor. RIPTA has only recently retired some paratransit buses dating to 2016. Those older, high-mileage vehicles had become increasingly expensive to maintain and were contributing to breakdowns and service disruptions.
“The ability for us to get these vehicles, get these vehicles fast, and the knowledge that they could perform so well in operations, honestly, it was a pretty simple decision,” Durand said. “These vehicles work. We need a reliable fleet. We’re going to go do this.”
It is still too early for RIPTA to make definitive long-term cost comparisons, but Chadwick said early maintenance experience has been encouraging. Preventive maintenance has been less costly, parts are less expensive and the buses have proven easy for technicians to service.
“No complaints there at all,” Chadwick said. “We’ll see on the long term what it looks like, but so far, so good.”
The ability to acquire vehicles on a responsive timeline is equally important. Durand said RIPTA cannot wait years for new paratransit vehicles while ridership and federally required trip demand continue changing.
“The fact that we were able to identify these vehicles, that they’re so well received, and then be able to get them at a pretty good turnaround period, that goes a long way to helping make sure that as our capacity needs change, our fleet can keep up with us,” he said.
That responsiveness comes as Frontrunner itself expands production capacity. In June, BUSRide reported that Frontrunner Bus Group signed a lease for a new 88,000-square-foot headquarters in Billerica, Massachusetts, designed to support its growing workforce, production, operations and expanding product line.
One fleet, multiple missions
Perhaps the most significant element of RIPTA’s purchase is the flexibility built into all 50 vehicles.
Historically, RIPTA divided new vehicle purchases between paratransit-equipped buses and vehicles configured for Flex, its augmented fixed-route service. With the Frontrunner purchase, every vehicle can perform either assignment.
“This is the first time we have ever as an agency, at least in my time here, we bought all 50 Frontrunners as Flex- and paratransit-capable right out of the box,” Chadwick said. “Any bus can go off to either type of job.”
That flexibility supports RIPTA’s broader effort to keep more service in-house, where the agency can exercise greater control over operator training, vehicle maintenance and the passenger experience. Durand said RIPTA wants riders to know they are boarding a well-maintained vehicle operated by an employee trained to the agency’s standards.
For a statewide transit provider, that adaptability is critical. Rhode Island may be geographically small, Durand said, but RIPTA still must respond to changing daily demand across a statewide service area.
“We want to be a responsive agency,” he said. “That’s our goal: what the riders need, we want to be able to meet.”
For RIPTA, the 50-vehicle investment provides a flexible platform for paratransit and Flex service while giving operators and passengers a vehicle they have embraced.
“I think this investment really shows our commitment to that,” Durand said. “And we’re very excited in terms of having these resources now to go out there and run that service.”
As RIPTA continues to deploy its Frontrunner fleet, the agency is realizing the benefits of a vehicle designed around accessibility, reliability, and operational flexibility. By investing in a solution that better serves riders, simplifies operations, and adapts to changing service demands, RIPTA has positioned itself to deliver a higher standard of mobility for years to come.