[B]ENNINGTON – A new, state-supported bus service linking the Bennington-Manchester area with the Amtrak rail station in Rensselaer, New York, is slated to come online in 2017.
“We are only 40 miles from a transportation gem,” said Bennington County Regional Commission planner Mark Anders, speaking during a public information session on the planned service.
At the Amtrak station, there are connections to New York City — the most popular among Southwestern Vermont riders — and other rail lines heading north, east and west, Anders said.
In addition, he and Vermont Agency of Transportation officials noted other connections, to Albany’s bus station and to Albany International Airport.
The service also could open up new employment opportunities for Vermonters in New York’s Capital District region, they said.
About two dozen local state lawmakers, town officials and interested residents attended the session Monday at Bennington College, offering a range of comments prior to a bid offering expected in early 2017. A similar input and information session is being considered for Manchester, Anders said.
VTrans Public Transit Program Manager Barbara Donovan said the next step will be for her to meet with the project consultant — Fred Fravel of KFH Group Inc. — to finalize the contract bid specifications. The new service could be running by mid-summer, officials said, and the primary goal is to establish convenient, reliable and easy-to-use transportation links to the Amtrak lines.
“We want to hear what you want to see,” Donovan told those at the meeting. “We want to hear what you have been thinking about all these years.”
Referring to the state-subsidized Vermont Translines service that now links Burlington, Bennington and other communities along the Route 7 corridor with the Albany bus station and airport, Donovan said she believes there will be no shortage of bidders for the new state contract. She expects to see even more bidders for the new route than the surprisingly large number that bid for the current route, which opened in 2014.
The reason, she said, is because the planned route is closer to a major population center, offering greater ridership potential.
Among logistical obstacles is that the Rensselaer rail station, the downtown Albany bus station and the airport in Colonie, New York, are not in the same vicinity. And neither the current Vermont Tranlines service nor an unsubsidized Yankee Trails bus service between Bennington and Albany schedule stops at the Amtrak station.
The current initiative stems from a study requested by the Legislature in 2015, which looked at the options available for the route and compiled a range of cost estimates, depending on the carrier and the services offered.
“It was a very general look at the options,” Donovan said, “but now we are getting down to the nitty-gritty” of preparing bid specifications.
To provide the new service, the state has committed to making up any deficit for the provider selected for the contract, she said.
Donovan and Scott Bascomb, transportation planning coordinator with the AOT, attended the session at Bennington College. They received input on what Bennington area residents would like to see in terms of a convenient booking and ticketing options to reach the rail station and beyond. Those primarily focused on travel to New York City, both during the workweek and on weekends.
College faculty members in attendance said there is a need for more and easier connections to the Amtrak station, offering those who commute from New York or Boston more and simpler options.
The area’s significant college student population, which could include Williams College via a local Green Mountain Express bus route that reaches into Williamstown, Massachusetts, would likely be a source of weekend travelers, they said.
State Rep. Timothy Corcoran II, D-Bennington, said he also hopes the new option will benefit Bennington economically, if more travelers come from New York area to Vermont. “I think an integral part is that we want people to come to Bennington too,” he said.
Anders credited Corcoran and Bennington County Sens. Dick Sears and Brian Campion with leading the effort in the Legislature to secure funding for the initiative.
Bascomb, who urged scheduling an input session in Manchester on the plan, said a significant ridership stream might be developed, moving riders and from the Northshire and the city, particularly in light of a recent surge in hotel construction in Manchester.
Anders briefly traced the Bennington area’s long, frustrating effort to secure a new passenger rail link from the Albany area to this area, linking up with points north including Rutland, Burlington and Montreal. But a study found that the cost of upgrading rail lines to handle passenger service speeds would cost around $112 million, he said, and the estimated annual maintenance cost was estimated at about $10 million, making the direct rail option too expensive, at least for the near future.
The state has, however, now moved on to Plan B, he said. “Plan B is a bus.”
Donovan stressed that the trend today actually is toward multiple travel connections linked by easy access to scheduling and ticketing systems, such as through smartphone apps. Those connections could include intercity buses, local bus routes that connect with the new service; rail, ferry, air, vehicle rental, taxi, rideshare services and smaller van service links, all available to someone planning a trip.
Bennington Select Board member Donald Campbell said it is likely young people would look for mobile ticketing and connections they can make through a smartphone. He added that the state shouldn’t overlook stops in Troy, New York, such as to serve college campuses there.
The winning bidder will be expected to reach an agreement with Amtrak concerning through booking and ticketing options, Donovan said.
That type of customer service is the future for transit, Donovan said, adding that millennial “are a very different generation when it comes to all forms of public transportation,” providing an eager customer base for any emerging interconnected and easy to navigate links. Most of those options actually are widely available today, she said.
She said that besides bus route operators, it’s possible other types of firms will bid on the contract, such as a small van fleet service. For instance, she said Enterprise Car Rental recently launched such a service, and the company is located in Bennington and at the rail station and the airport.
Anders said he believes small vehicles making more trips back and forth to the Albany area might be preferable, but others, including Corcoran, said they are concerned that travelers might want more room for luggage and personal space.
Peak travel times will be known going into the bidding phase, Donovan said, and provisions for additional vehicles or a few larger vehicles could be built into the requirements. She added that the goal is to include the desired features and services in bidding specifications, while also allowing room for bidders to come up with creative suggestions.
In response to a question from Rep. Mary Morrissey, R-Bennington, the AOT officials said it appears the earliest the new service will be in operation is July 2017. Bids won’t be sought before early 2017.
For more information, visit www.vttranslines.com or www.connectingcommuters.org/bus-info.
