Worcester Regional Transit Authority

History

Public transit in Worcester began with the Worcester Horse Railway in 1861. It was merged in 1887 into the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway, which electrified its lines between 1891 and 1893. The system grew through construction of city lines and acquisitions of suburban lines until the 1910s. It began replacing unprofitable lines with buses in 1924. In 1932, it was sold and reorganized as the Worcester Street Railway. Bus substitutions continued, with the final streetcars operating in 1945. In 1953, it was sold and renamed as the Worcester Bus Company.

In April 1971, the city received a $597,057 federal grant to purchase 34 new buses for the company to use. By that time, the company was in poor financial condition. In August 1973, the owners threatened to shut down the company. The company received a one-year, $300,000 state subsidy (equivalent to $ million in ) as part of legislation in November 1973 that also established regional transit authorities.

The WRTA was created in September 1974 along with several other regional transit authorities in Massachusetts, including the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority. Daily ridership on the Worcester Bus Company had dropped to 20,000 by July 1975, when a two-month strike again nearly collapsed the company. The company lost the Worcester Public Schools bus contract, which it had held for decades, in 1977. The WRTA purchased the company's assets in 1978. On June 30, 1978, the WRTA contract switched to a different company to run the system; with no more operating contracts, the Worcester Bus Company was closed.

Before the free-fare system, fare revenues covered just 7% of the WRTA's expenses, coming in at $3 million in FY2019. In 2020, WRTA made the bus service free to ride. Currently, the fare-free program is extended until June 2026. In fiscal year 2024, the WRTA provided 4.5 million rides, the highest of any year in the 21st century and coming after pandemic-era lows of 875,000 in 2020.

Routes

The WRTA currently provides fixed route bus service to Worcester, and the surrounding towns of Auburn, Brookfield, East Brookfield, Leicester, Millbury, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Southbridge, Spencer, Webster, West Boylston. In addition to its fixed route bus service, the WRTA provides Community Shuttle Flex Van Service (limited shuttle service) to Grafton, Northbridge, and Westborough. The WRTA also provides paratransit service to a total of 37 communities in Central Massachusetts.

The WRTA's Operations and Maintenance Center is located at 42 Quinsigamond Ave in Worcester's Green Island Neighborhood. This new garage replaces the old one, meant to be a trolley yard, holding just 1/2 of the new capacity. The WRTA's previous facility is now home to a shopping center.

Fixed Route Bus Service

Community Shuttle Flex Van Service

Fleet

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority operates a fleet of 46 Gillig Low Floor buses, 6 Proterra EcoRide battery electric buses, and 35 Ford E350 minibuses.

References

References

1. "2018 MassDOT Annual Report on Regional Transit Authorities". Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
2. Turken, Sam. (2023-04-20). "Worcester area buses to remain free for at least another year".
3. Bass, Adam. (2025-04-18). "Worcester’s record-setting free bus program takes another victory lap".
4. (1985). "Worcester Trolleys Remembered". Worcester Regional Transit Authority.
5. (December 20, 1952). "Worcester Street Railway Sold to Boston Group". The Boston Globe.
6. (April 18, 1971). "U.S. funds to provide 34 buses for Worcester". The Courier-Journal and Times.
7. (July 13, 1971). "Worcester Firm May Cease Bus Service". The Morning Union.
8. (July 31, 1971). "Bus Company Rescued". The Morning Union.
9. (August 16, 1973). "Subsidy Triggers Bus Shutdown Plan". Fitchburg Sentinel.
10. Perry, Neil L.. (September 25, 1973). "Bus Company Subsidies Could Aid Ailing GMTA". The Recorder.
11. (November 9, 1973). "Sargent Signs Bus Subsidy Bill". The Morning Union.
12. King, Nick. (July 2, 1975). "Brookline strike ends, others go on". The Boston Globe.
13. (August 24, 1977). "Bus suit dismissed". Daily Hampshire Gazette.
14. "Transit Cooperative Research Program Legal Research Digest 41: Transit Labor 13(c) Employee Protection Digest". Transportation Research Board.
15. Michalek, Irene. (June 7, 1978). "St. Railway Negotiates To Keep Regular Runs". The Republican.
16. (May 10, 1978). "Mayor Hits St. Railway On Costs, 'Problems'". The Republican.
17. Dolven, Taylor. (10 April 2024). "With soaring ridership levels, Worcester considers another year of fare-free transit".
18. Doran, Sam. (11 December 2024). "Worcester, Leominster regional transit ridership boosted by free fares".
19. (2017-02-05). "Worcester Regional Transit Authority Schedules". therta.com.
20. (2018-08-03). "Overview of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority". Office of the State Auditor.