SRTA announces “Try Transit”, Sunday Service pilots, keep eye out for silver buses on the South Coast!

“New Bedford, Massachusetts – The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) has received a substantial increase in state funding thanks to the Massachusetts Legislature, paired with lock‐step leadership from the Healy Administration. The increase comes from SRTA’s allocation of Fair Share Funding, which will support two new fantastic initiatives.

Starting January 1st, the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority will bring back the “Try Transit” program. Building on the success of last year’s six‐week “Try Transit” Program which ran during the winter holidays, SRTA is now able to offer fare‐free service from January 1st to June 30th to grow ridership and support the local economy.

“Try Transit” is an excellent opportunity for new riders to see if public transportation can work for their daily lives, without the pressure of learning how to access the system. Additionally, the program will provide financial relief for our existing customers in challenging times.

The increased funding in FY24 will also enable SRTA to Pilot Sunday service for the first time in years. This exciting development will allow the Authority to test the viability of Sunday service to continue to build the case for the need for the service.

Sunday service is the most requested action of the Authority by the public for the past decade. The pilot service schedule will mirror the current Saturday schedule. This will give the Authority the ability to roll out the service quickly for the customers while easily communicating what level of service the public should expect. This pilot will run until June 30th 2024, but we are hopeful that the service will prove to be successful and warrant continuation in the future. SRTA anticipates to be able to launch the Sunday service pilot by the end of January.

Lastly, be on the lookout for the first 6 of 40 hybrid buses coming to the Southcoast. These silver buses are easy to spot and provide an instrumental bridge between traditional diesel vehicles and the Zero Emission buses of the future. Funding for the Hybrid buses was made possible through competitive grant awards totaling nearly $24 million to the Authority by the Federal Transit Administration as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”