Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority

The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, United States, charged with providing public transportation to an area consisting of the cities and towns of Amesbury, Andover, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury, as well as a seasonal service to the popular nearby summer destination of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.[1]

Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority
MVRTA garage at Haverhill station
Headquarters85 Railroad Avenue
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Service areaNortheast Massachusetts
Service typeBus service, paratransit
AllianceMBTA, LRTA
Routes25
DestinationsLawrence, Haverhill, Methuen, Andover, North Andover
FleetGillig, Motor Coach Industries
OperatorFirst Transit
Websitemvrta.com

The MVRTA provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services within its area, together with services to Lowell and Boston. MVRTA's buses provide interchange with commuter lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) at Andover Station, Haverhill station, Lawrence station, Lowell station and Newburyport station.[2]

The MVRTA started operation in 1976, having been created under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws. Since 1983, operation of the MVRTA has been subcontracted to First Transit, a subsidiary of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup.[3][4]

Routes

Buses generally start service at 5:00, 5:30, or 6:00 am, and the last bus for each route is at 6:00 or 7:00 pm.

01 and 41

Buses 01 and 41 are actually two segments of one continuous bus. From west to east, Bus 41 starts at the Lowell commuter rail station, which is also the terminal for the LRTA, and it goes into Dracut, Methuen, and Lawrence. At the Buckley Transportation Center, the bus switches numbers to become Bus 01, which then goes through a different part of Methuen, provides access to The Loop, and then goes into Haverhill, ending at the Washington Square Transit Station, near the Haverhill commuter rail. Most of this route is on Route 110.

Buses 01 and 41 run every half hour on weekdays and every hour on weekends.

13 through 18

  • 13 Main Street/North Avenue
  • 14 Bradford/Ward Hill
  • 15 Hilldale Avenue/Haverhill Commons
  • 16 Washington Street/Westgate Plaza
  • 18 Riverside

These five buses are used for transport within Haverhill. Each of these buses is a shuttle between the Washington Square Transit Station, which is near the Haverhill commuter rail station, and another part of Haverhill. Bus 13 goes north to the New Hampshire border, Bus 14 goes south into Bradford, Buses 15 and 16 take different routes going west, and Bus 18 goes east.

These five buses run every hour on weekdays, leaving the Washington Square Transit Station on the hour. On weekends, the schedule is more irregular, usually (but not always) leaving twice every 2 hours and 15 minutes.

32 through 40 and 85

Buckley Transportation Center in downtown Lawrence is the hub of a number of MVRTA routes.
  • 32 Andover
  • 33 North Andover
  • 34 Prospect Hill
  • 35 Water Street
  • 36 Lawrence Street
  • 37 Beacon Street
  • 39A Doctor's Park
  • 39B Phillips Street
  • 40 Methuen Square/Village Plaza
  • 85 Lawrence Downtown Shuttle

These ten buses leave the Buckley Transportation Center in Lawrence every hour, going in different directions. Buses 33, 39A, and 39B go to the North Andover Mall in different ways. Buses 32 and 33 provide access to commuter rail stations in Andover and Lawrence, respectively. Bus 35 mostly parallels Bus 41, going west into Methuen and ending just before reaching Interstate 93, while Bus 41 continues further. Bus 37 goes west along Andover St. into the western part of Andover, and Bus 40 goes north to Methuen.

Buses 34 and 85 travel within Lawrence, while Bus 36 is mostly in Lawrence but provides access to the Holy Family Hospital in Methuen. Bus 34 provides access to Lawrence General Hospital. Bus 85 travels in a loop around Downtown Lawrence.

These ten buses run every hour. On weekdays from 6 AM to 8 AM and 2 PM to 6 PM, they run every half hour. The buses all leave Buckley Transportation Center at the same time to reduce time spent waiting during transfers. [5]

51 and 54

Buses 51 and 54, which are two numbers for one bus similar to 01 and 41, run from Washington Square Transit Station in Haverhill to Northern Essex Community College and the towns of Merrimac, Amesbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury, ending at Salisbury Beach. The section in Newburyport allows passengers to access the Newburyport station on the Commuter Rail. The bus is numbered 51 west of Amesbury and 54 east of Amesbury. Buses 51 and 54 are on a 70-minute cycle.

Boston commuter service

A Boston Commuter bus in 2019

Bus 99 has stops in Methuen, Lawrence, and Andover once per day on weekdays. It then goes into Boston without access to any of the cities or towns in between Andover and Boston. The return trip in the afternoon starts in Boston and allows people to get off at the same stops where people boarded the bus in the morning.[6]

Other

Bus 21 runs on a 70-minute cycle between Downtown Andover and the North Andover Mall.

Bus 75 runs twice per day from Lawrence to Raytheon and IRS locations in Andover. It does return trips in the afternoon. Bus 73 used to run once per day from Haverhill to the same Raytheon and IRS locations, but it was discontinued in 2018.

During the summer, bus 83 runs twice per day from Lawrence through Methuen, Haverhill, Merrimac, and Amesbury to provide access to Salisbury Beach and Hampton Beach, and does the return trip several hours later.

Fleet roster

Year order Manufacturer/model Series
(qty.)
Powertrain Notes
1999 Gillig Phantom 35' 9901-9912
(12)
Detroit Diesel 50/Allison B400R
  • Retired
2001 MCI D4500 100,105,110,115,120
(5)
Detroit Diesel 60/Allison B500R
  • Used only on Boston Commuter Express
2004 Gillig 35' Phantom 0401-0417
(6)
Cummins ISM/ Vioth D864.3E
  • 5 Phantoms retired in 2016 and 4 2004 Phantoms have been sold to Greater Portland Metro District in Portland Maine in 2016. Buses 0405, 0407, 0412, 0416 and 0406 were retired in the fall of 2016 due to a blown engine. It became a parts bus.
  • As of June 2017 6 2004 Phantoms, 0402, 0409, 0410, 0411, 0413, and 0414 have been retired from service and have been replaced by 6 2017 Gillig Advantages.
  • As of June 2017 6 2004 Phantoms, 0401, 0403, 0404, 0408, 0415, and 0417 are in active service and will be retired in 2018.
2007 Gillig 35' Low Floor 0701-0703
(3)
Cummins ISM/Vioth D864.5
  • Active
2009 Gillig 35' Low Floor HEV 0901-0902
(2)
Cummins ISB/Allison EP40
  • First hybrid buses in the fleet
  • Active
2009 Gillig 35' Low Floor 0903-0909
(7)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R
  • Active
2011 Gillig 35' Low Floor 1101-1108
(8)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R
  • Active
2012 Gillig 35' Low Floor 1201-1205
(5)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R
  • Active
2012 Gillig 29' Low Floor 1206-1208
(3)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B300R
  • Active
2013-2014 MCI D4500CT 125, 130, 135
(3)
Cummins ISX12/Allison B500R
  • Active
2015 Gillig 35' Low Floor 1501-1505
(5)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R6
  • Active
2015 MCI D4500CT 140, 145, 150
(3)
Cummins ISX12/Allison B500R
  • Used only on Boston Commuter Express
2016 Gillig 35' Low Floor 1601-1605
(5)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R6
  • Active
2017 Gillig 35' Low Floor 1701
(1)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R6
  • Active, entered service in June 2017
  • 1701 is a 35' diesel.
  • Replaced the 2004 Gillig Phantoms
2017 Gillig 35' Low Floor HEV 1702-1704
(3)
Cummins ISB6.7/Allison H 40 EP Hybrid System
  • Second set of hybrids in the fleet
  • Active, entered service in June 2017
  • 1702-1704 are 35' hybrids.
  • Replaced the 2004 Gillig Phantoms
2017 Gillig 29' Low Floor 1705-1706
(2)
Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R6
  • Active
  • 1705-1706 are 29' buses.
  • Replaced the 2004 Gillig Phantoms.
2018 Gillig Low Floor 1801-1806
(6)
Cummins
  • To be delivered in 2018, to replace 6 remaining 2004 Gillig 35' Phantoms.

References

  1. "About MARTA". Massachusetts State Association of Regional Transit Authorities. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  2. "Home page". Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority.
  3. "Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority". First Transit. Archived from the original on 2008-01-06. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
  4. "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Regional Transit Authorities Coordination and Efficiencies Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  5. http://mvrta.com/FAQs/Fixed-Routes---Schedules.aspx
  6. http://mvrta.com/Our-Services/Boston-Commuter-Service.aspx

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.