Expanded bus service in north county
In an attempt to better connect Williamstown and North Adams, the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) and Williams College have announced they’re partnering to expand weekday bus service between the two communities.
“We are thrilled to partner with Williams College to better serve the transportation needs of their students, faculty and staff,” said Gary Shepard, BRTA executive director.
The goal of the pilot expansion is to improve access learning, work and shopping opportunities in the area.
“It’s wonderful that the BRTA has been so committed to partnering with Williams on this pilot program, which should not only enable more of our students to engage with the community but be of service to all local residents,” said Jim Kolesar, assistant to the president for public affairs at Williams.
The 13-week experiment, which started on Sept. 10, increases weekday service frequency between the two communities from hourly to every 30 minutes on the No. 3 line between 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
Williams students, instrumental in the development and on-campus promotion of the pilot, have created a slogan, “Bus with Us!,” to encourage their peers and the wider community to take advantage of the expanded service.
The new service is open to all riders, but Williams students, faculty and staff can ride the weekday No. 3 buses (both the new and regular bus) for free when they show their college ID. A unified bus schedule is available at experiential.williams.edu/
The added special bus follows a slightly different route than the standard one, with new scheduled stops at 51 Park St. in Williamstown (across from the Williams College Paresky Center), Wild Oats Food Co-op and Brayton Elementary School in North Adams.
These special stops will also be available “On Demand” on the regular hourly runs, provided the rider notifies the BRTA at least 10 minutes in advance of intent to ride.
New texting service
The experiment also includes a new texting option (at 413-242-2034) for riders to let the BRTA know they are waiting at an “On Demand” stop. BRTA communications staff will pass the location and travelling direction information to the driver if the text is received 10 to 15 minutes in advance of the bus passing through the area.
Passengers can also notify the BRTA by calling (413) 499-2782 or, if at a visible stop along the route, by waving to the bus driver.
Smartphone users can now use a new free phone application, RouteShout, to follow the BRTA bus. For more information about the app and BRTA’s routes, go to berkshirerta.com.
Posted by Catherine M. Krummey
on November 1, 2012. Filed under Community News,News.
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