UMass Transit Announces Updates to Campus Bus Service for Fall Semester

AMHERST, Mass. – The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) has new bus schedules that will go into effect in the Amherst area on Sept. 1 for the beginning of the fall semester.

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Due to a shortage of qualified bus drivers, a few bus schedules have been modified, said Glenn Barrington, transportation manager at UMass Transit. PVTA routes 30 and 31 will run every 20 minutes, while PVTA routes 34 and 35 will run every 22 minutes during daytime hours on weekdays. PVTA bus route 39, between Hampshire College and Smith College, will be cancelled for the fall semester. Route 38 will resume a full service schedule with buses running every 30 minutes during weekday daytime hours. Routes R29, 33, B43, 45 and 46 will continue as normal with the B43 scheduled to resume full service schedules on Sunday, Sept. 5.

PVTA bus routes will resume running late into the evenings and Amherst Police officers will ride late night trips on routes 30 & 31 each Friday and Saturday night during academic periods to ensure public safety. The UMass Student Code of Conduct is in effect on all bus routes that service the UMass area.

UMass Transit Services will run “Tripper” buses on weekday mornings and afternoons to help alleviate overcrowding. Tripper buses are unscheduled buses that supplement service on heavily congested routes 30 and 31 in the Amherst area during weekdays, picking up anyone left behind because of overcrowding. Passengers are strongly encouraged to take a bus much earlier than anticipated in order to avoid overcrowding and arrive on time at their destination. Those who live on campus should strongly consider walking and/or biking to class in order to avoid overcrowded conditions.

UMass Transit Services continues to recruit new student drivers to work as bus drivers and are hiring students from all of the Five Colleges in the Five College Consortium for the first time in its history. Bus drivers start at $17 per hour once they complete all training (training is paid at $13.50 per hour) and there are many promotional positions within the operation once hired. Please apply at the UMass Transit Services website if interested and qualified.

Face mask use will be required when riding the PVTA buses. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) currently requires face mask use on all public transportation through Jan. 18, 2022. This requirement may extend based upon the spread of the delta variant. UMass Transit Services strongly encourages continued use of face masks whenever a bus is crowded. There are no limitations on the number of riders who may occupy a PVTA bus, and passengers must determine what is personally safest for them.

PVTA received funding to run two new pilot bus routes for the next two years. The G73E PVTA bus route provides express service between Springfield Union Station and the Holyoke Mall with extended service to the Northampton Academy of Music. That service went into effect in June.

A new PVTA bus route to/from Amherst to/from Worcester will begin as soon as the PVTA can hire enough drivers to run it. That pilot route will run along route 9 from Haigis Mall at UMass through the towns of Amherst, Belchertown, Ware, West Brookfield, Brookfield, East Brookfield, Spencer, Leicester and Union Station in Worcester. A $9 fare will be charged to all riders for this bus pilot project.