This story by Liz Sauchelli was first published by the Valley News on Oct. 3.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Upper Valley residents are taking more advantage of the region’s public transportation options, which area organizations have expanded in recent weeks.
On the second Saturday of Advance Transit’s weekend routes, a bus that went from Sachem Village on Route 10 to the Norwich Farmers Market was standing room only.
“That was really exciting to see,” said Adams Carroll, executive director of the White River Junction-based nonprofit public transit organization. “You previously could not get there if you didn’t have a car or somebody to take you.”
There are now three routes running on Saturdays — the Blue-Red, Green and Orange. The most popular of the three so far is the Blue-Red, which includes stops in downtown Hanover, downtown Lebanon, Miracle Mile and Walmart in West Lebanon. Advance Transit does not run on Sundays.
“The Saturday Blue-Red route achieving nearly 23 passengers per hour on its first day of operation as a regular bus service is astounding,” Carroll wrote in a follow-up email.
Comparatively, the weekday average across all routes is 14 passengers per hour.
“Before the service launched, I assumed that the Saturday buses would carry fewer passengers per hour than our weekday service, and that it would take some time to attract ridership” Carroll said.
On the first Saturday of service, Sept. 16, there were 635 passengers across all three routes; on the second Saturday, the 23rd, that number had climbed to 673.
“It’s been almost shocking to see how many more passengers are riding on Saturdays. That’s been way beyond our expectations,” Carroll said. “If anything, we may have underestimated demand and may need to think about adding additional buses to the routes (…) But it’s clear that there’s an unmet need there and opportunities for growth for years to come.”
On Sept. 23, Carroll rode an Orange route bus with older adults from Quail Hollow, an independent living facility off Route 10 in West Lebanon, to the Bugbee Senior Center in downtown White River Junction to attend an event. Along the way, the group passed the Upper Valley Aquatic Center and the Main Street Museum, where events also were taking place.
“We often think about transit as getting people to work,” in addition to medical appointments and running errands, Carroll said.
But the popularity of the Saturday service is showing that that’s not entirely the case.
“There’s also a lot of fun stuff, social opportunities and cultural opportunities that people are using the bus service for which is really fun to see,” he said.
Advance Transit expanded its weekday routes last month: Buses now run until at least 8:30 p.m. on the weekdays. Over the four expanded routes, there were 310 passengers the week of Sept. 11, and 327 passengers the week of Sept. 18.
“Weekday evening ridership is off to a good start for off-peak service,” Carroll wrote in an email, noting that nearly half of all evening passengers used a route that goes to the West Lebanon shopping plazas. “Evening trips are often return trips, so many of these evening trips are likely to correspond to an earlier trip that might not have been taken before the service was expanded, because the passenger would not have had a way to make it home.”
Advance Transit is not the only public transportation service to expand: MicroMOO, a fare-free microtransit service operated by Southeast Vermont Transit from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in Windsor, added stops in Hartland and Weathersfield Monday after requests from community members.
“There was demand north and south of our area,” said Randy Schoonmaker, CEO of Southeast Vermont Transit, which oversees MicroMOO service in Windsor. MicroMOO launched in January as part of a pilot program; riders are required to make reservations for the service.
“We’re doing 25 to 30 a day and I’d like to see it higher. We have the capacity,” Schoonmaker said. “It’s everybody. We have students. We have people going to work. We have elders. We have people going to doctors’ appointments and shopping, or just visiting neighbors.”
MicroMOO drivers will now pick up people at the Hartland Public Library and the Interstate Exit 8 Park & Ride in Weathersfield.
One of the community members who advocated for the expansion is Hartland resident Chuck Fenton.
“I thought it offered an opportunity to allow Randy to grow his capacity within his boundaries, with his barriers and offer something to Hartland that could be very meaningful,” Fenton said. He added that the library is a good choice because it is on Route 5, has 24-hour WiFi and a covered porch where riders can wait for the bus.
Fenton, whose primary mode of transportation is a bike, said he plans on using MicroMOO to get to Price Chopper in Windsor in addition to visiting friends. It will be particularly useful in winter, when weather conditions can make it difficult to ride his bike.
“I’m looking forward to using it on a regular basis,” Fenton said.
Another community member who is excited about MicroMOO’s expansion is Amanda Jordan Smith, who is the program lead for Volunteers in Action, which is overseen by Mt. Ascutney Hospital & Health Center and organizes volunteers to assist community members — particularly older adults — with shopping, home-delivered meals and companionship programs.
“This service is particularly important to those hoping to ‘age in place’ and to those that may have low or limited incomes or who lack familial support close by,” Jordan Smith wrote in an email. “The increase in ridership is proof of concept that this type of transportation solution works here in Vermont, particularly in communities like Windsor, and with the expansion of this service north to Hartland and south to Ascutney, we hope to continue to welcome more neighbors to utilize this free service to meet their needs and stay connected.”
