University of Massachusetts Transportation Services

University of Massachusetts Transportation Services
UMass Transit/PVTA bus #3401 makes a stop at the UMass Fine Arts Center on N. Pleasant Street, operating the Route 31.
Parent
Headquarters 255 Governors Drive
Amherst, MA 01003-9266
Locale Five Colleges of the Pioneer Valley
Service area Five Colleges campuses plus Amherst, Belchertown, Granby, Hadley, Northampton, South Deerfield, South Hadley and Sunderland
Service type Local bus transit, campus shuttle, field trip charter
Alliance Five Colleges
Routes 10
Hubs
Fuel type Diesel, hybrid electric
General Manager Glenn Barrington
Website UMass Transit
Five College buses
PVTA.com

University of Massachusetts Transportation Services, abbreviated to UMass Transit Services or UMass Transit, is a department within the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) that provides mass transit services to the UMass Amherst campus and other members of the Five Colleges Consortium in eastern Hampshire County, as well as outlying towns. Similar to other large campus transportation systems, such as UGA Campus Transit in Georgia and Unitrans in California, UMass Transit buses are driven by students attending UMass Amherst.

Services

Fixed-route services

UMass Transit operates as a contractor for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), headquartered in Springfield, the largest municipality in the region. This setup exists because PVTA, as a regional transit authority established under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Statutes, is forbidden under Section 25 of the same statute from operating routes directly. PVTA thus contracts with the school to operate certain routes (other routes in the system are operated by First Transit employees). UMass Transit buses in fixed route service are owned by the PVTA and are painted in their standard livery. These buses are numbered in the 3000 series, and are between 35 and 60 feet in length. The 60-feet buses were acquired in 2013 to accommodate student crowds on the North Pleasant Street through routes Gold 30 and Pink 31.[1]

Field trip services

In addition to operating tendered services for the PVTA, UMass Transit also maintains an activity fleet of buses of various types for charter by student groups within the UMass Amherst community. In keeping with the school colors of white and maroon, these buses are generally painted white with a maroon stripe.

Fixed routes

The following routes are operated by UMass Transit Services on behalf of the PVTA. Most buses only display the destination.

UMass and Five Colleges routes

Route Terminals Via Notes
30[2] N. Amherst
Puffton Village Drive		 Amherst
Old Belchertown Road and Belchertown Road
(before Harkness Road)		 North Pleasant Street, Main Street, Belchertown Road
31[3] Sunderland
Sugarloaf Estates		 S. Amherst
The Boulders		 South Pleasant Street, North Pleasant Street, Amherst/Sunderland Road
  • Bypasses the Crestview Apartments stop between 2 PM and 7 PM on weekdays.
    • Crestview Apartments customers must use Route 30.
34/35[4] UMass Amherst Campus Shuttle University Drive, Commonwealth Avenue, North Pleasant Street, East Pleasant Street, Eastman Lane, East Pleasant Street, Massachusetts Avenue Both routes serve the same destinations, but travel in opposite directions.
  • Route 34 travels east past Haigis Mall, north past the Studio Arts Building, south through Orchard Hill, west past the UMass Transit garage, and counterclockwise via the Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
  • Route 35 travels west past Haigis Mall, south past the Studio Arts Building, north through Orchard Hill, east past the UMass Transit garage, and clockwise via the Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
  • Both Routes 34 and 35 service Parking Lots 11, 12, and 13.
38[5] Amherst
Haigis Mall		 S. Hadley
Mt. Holyoke College		 MA Route 116, North Pleasant Street
39[6] Northampton Smith College From Smith College
  • Daytime Route 39 Smith-Mount Holyoke trips (bypassing Hampshire College) prior to 4 PM are operated by PVTA's Northampton contractor and not by UMass Transit. Fares are collected on these trips.
  • Weekday Route 39 local buses only operate between Smith and Hampshire.
  • Evening and weekend Route 39 trips operate Smith to/from Hampshire, then to/from Mount Holyoke.

UMass Outreach routes

These routes, operated by UMass Transit, are targeted not toward the UMass student body, but towards the year-round local population in the area.

Route Terminals Via Notes
33[7] Hadley
Stop & Shop		 Amherst
Mill Hollow Apartments/Puffer's Pond		 Amity Street, East Pleasant Street, Eastman Lane, Cushman Center, Survival Center, North Pleasant Street
  • A combination of the former routes 32 and 37.
36[8] Olympia Drive

Admissions Building

 Atkins Farm North Pleasant Street, Route 116, East Pleasant Street
  • Only operates during Reduced Service
  • A combination of the routes 35 and former 32.
45[9] Amherst
Graduate Research Center, UMass		 Belchertown
Belchertown Center		 North Pleasant Street, Main Street, Echo Hill/Gatehouse Road, Belchertown Road
  • Route 45 does not operate on weekends.
46[9] Amherst
Studio Arts Building, UMass		 Whately
Park and Ride		 North Pleasant Street, Sunderland/Amherst Road, South Deerfield Center
  • Route 46 does not operate on weekends.

Notes:

  • Connections are available to FRTA Route 23 at Sugarloaf Estates in Sunderland, and to Route 31 at South Deerfield Center and Whately Park and Ride.
  • By order of the Amherst Police Department and UMass Police Department, in an effort to curb student crowds and maintain order, the Fearing Street bus stops in Amherst are bypassed by all campus buses, along with the B43 route, after 10 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights during full service periods. The North Village bus stop in North Amherst is bypassed after 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights during full service periods.

Fares

UMass Transit buses are not equipped with fareboxes or fare registers.

Students attending any colleges in the Five Colleges Consortium have a fee included in their tuition bills (service fee for UMass Amherst students and student activity fees for the other colleges) for each semester that prepays their bus fares for the semester and funds the Five Colleges bus system, along with fares on the M40 (Minuteman Express) between UMass and Smith College, and the B43 local route between Amherst College and Smith College via UMass. UMass Transit buses operate via a proof-of-payment system, in which there are random inspections of student identification cards and bus passes and transfers.

Riders not affiliated with the Five Colleges must be prepared to show a transfer, ticket, or pass valid at the time during random fare inspections.

Holiday and school break service levels

While the population of Amherst is nominally 37,819 as per the 2010 census, that figure includes the student population of the Five Colleges, many of whom are only part-time residents and who account for approximately 60 percent of that figure. As such, when classes are not in session, service is greatly reduced and often suspended on many routes, and other routes will have service ending early.

All UMass Transit service is suspended on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. On other days when classes are not in session, UMass Transit routes operate on a reduced service schedule.

References

  1. ↑ "UMass Transit Goes for Long Ride". September 12, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
  2. ↑ http://www.umass.edu/transit/pdf/route30.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.umass.edu/transit/pdf/route31.pdf
  4. ↑ "Route Schedules - Transportation Services - UMass Amherst" (PDF).
  5. ↑ http://www.umass.edu/transit/pdf/route38.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.umass.edu/transit/pdf/route39.pdf
  7. ↑ "Page Not Found - Transportation Services - UMass Amherst" (PDF).
  8. ↑ "PVTA Route 36" (PDF). Retrieved 12/6/2016. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  9. 1 2 "Route Schedules - Transportation Services - UMass Amherst" (PDF).
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