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BRTA FY22 ANNUAL REPORT
Sometimes It’s the journey the destination.
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide an efficient and effective public transportation service to enhance the economic vitality of member communities through improved access to jobs, education, and the marketplace.
Dear BRTA Stakeholders,
Periodically, it’s good to review our mission statement. Adopted in 1994, we believe our mission still stands tall. It’s our job to move customers from here to there, wherever they want or need to go within Berkshire County.
Serving 13 fixed bus routes, from Williamstown to Great Barrington, getting people from home to work, school, play, errands, and outings. For many customers, BRTA is very much a part of their daily lives and routines.
We’ve dedicated our FY22 annual report to our loyal customers. They were the first to get back on board after the COVID shutdown and many continued to ride throughout the duration of the pandemic. They’re with us through the ups and downs of funding-dictated route changes. They attend public meetings and respond to surveys when we need customer input. They have a vested interest in a robust regional public transit system.
Massachusetts has an underfunded transit system, according to an April 2022 report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Based on data collected just prior to the pandemic, US News
and World Report ranked Massachusetts transportation systems 39th out of the 50 states.
As for the Commonwealth’s 15 regional transit authorities of which BRTA is one, most offer no or little service on the weekends or in the evenings.
As you may recall, the BRTA began offering limited evening service in 2019 as part of a pilot program. This pilot was launched as the result of input from customers. This past June 2022, the BRTA Advisory Board voted on service changes for FY23 with the overarching goal of “maintaining as many successful pilot evening services as possible.” Once again, the priorities of our customers were top of mind for our Advisory Board when facing projected funding reductions and the need to trim services.
Public transit needs additional funding. This is not just a Massachusetts problem, it’s true across the country. One area of needed
investment is carbon reduction. According to MassBudget, “Transportation is the largest and fastest growing source of climate emissions in Massachusetts.” A massive investment in infrastructure will be necessary to move to more carbon-independent vehicles — both cars and buses.
Having a strong Regional Transit Authority is important to residents and visitors. It’s a key contribution to a healthy regional economy.
Beyond providing a report of our FY22 operations, we’d also like to engage even more customers, advocates, and supporters in our efforts to live up to our mission. We hope you will join us.
Best
regards, Robert Malnati
from NYC to Pittsfield: Four Years in the Making
There had not been train service between New York City and Pittsfield in 50 years. Getting the service back on track started with a feasibility study conducted in 2018.
Dozens of stakeholders, including a state senator, economic development and planning experts, community leaders, and representatives from the DOT and the BRTA worked together to make the The Berkshire Flyer a reality. The group knew that making the Berkshire’s cultural assets convenient to people living in Manhattan could strengthen the region’s economy.
During the original feasibility study, the group learned there are 600,000 households in NYC with no cars. Among them, younger families who might want to visit the Berkshires for the weekend in the summertime. Travel by train to the Berkshires on Friday afternoon and return home on Sunday might be an attractive get-away. Naturally, the planning group in Pittsfield would need to figure out last mile transportation. How would a traveler get from Pittsfield to North Adams, Lenox, Williamstown, or Great Barrington, already popular cultural and tourism stops?
Several years of planning interrupted by a global pandemic ultimately didn’t stop the legislature from funding a multi-year pilot program. BRTA was provided funding to support the Berkshire Flyer Project Manager. The money also funded a novel ambassadors’ program designed to greet visitors and gather data once train service was activated.
The need to resolve track ownership, bolster last mile transportation, and build awareness in NYC about the train to the Berkshires kept the committee focused and busy. Years of work would finally be rewarded in FY23 on July 8 with the maiden run of the Berkshire Flyer.
Consumer survey
Mid-January marked the close of the BRTA consumer survey. We received responses from 291 residents. Almost 87% of survey respondents have recently used BRTA services.
As for frequency of use, we see that almost 70% of respondents are regular passengers.
The remaining survey questions are designed to provide input in our planning.
When asked whether BRTA should focus on adjustments to current bus routes or focus on operating different bus routes, nearly 64% prioritized improvements to our current routes.
Several questions focused on speed of service, service amenities, and destinations of interest. When asked how quickly the bus would need to travel to entice them to ride, over 50% indicated the service needs to be the equivalent of traveling by car and nearly 30% indicated “no more than slightly longer” than traveling by car. These responses clearly support the need for “limited stop” service.
When asked to rank amenities, it’s not surprising that faster travel times received the highest ranking.
When asked to identify hypothetical express/regional bus routes with the greatest appeal, the three top routes were
1. Pittsfield to Northampton
2. North Adams to Bennington, Vermont
3. Pittsfield to North Adams via Adams, Cheshire
BRTA is grateful to all who participated in the survey. Know that these survey results helped guide and prioritize FY23 service changes including:
MAINTAINING as many successful pilot evening services as possible, even given that BRTA’s current pilot service grant funding expired on June 30, 2022.
MAXIMIZING customer use of existing services through improved scheduling and connections between BRTA routes; a priority identified in recent customer surveys.
REVISING BRTA service to accommodate new potential service types such as express buses, regional buses, and micro-transit options in future service plans.
Additionally, FY23 operations will:
MAINTAIN as much service as possible, within BRTA’s projected funding and staffing constraints during the new fiscal year.
REVISE BRTA service to support future electric vehicle procurements.
DEVELOP a “micro-transit”, non-fixed route, public transit option within existing resource constraints.
CONTINUE to develop Main St North Adams as a northern mobility hub for BRTA.
North Adams is a Popular !
North Adams, Massachusetts is the home of the largest contemporary art museum in the country. MASS MoCA has transformed the area around the museum into a center of culture and tourism.
Living in North Adams is affordable and ranks #18 in terms of low-cost places to live in Massachusetts #18
North Adams is a popular destination from Pittsfield and Williamstown. Bus Route 1, from Pittsfield to the North Adams Walmart, was up 22,029 riders from last year, totaling 99,601 customers. Bus Route 3, from Williamstown to North Adams, was up 7,703 riders from last year, totaling 31,685 customers. Many Williams College students use this route to get to the North Adams Stop and Shop. Within North Adams, residents take Bus Route 34, circulating from downtown to the Walmart. This route was up 21,043 riders from last year, totaling 65,634 in FY22. These increases in ridership numbers are impressive. We’re looking for ways to keep ridership growing into FY23 and beyond. Stay tuned. resident population
12,961 19.7 4.9 17.5
$175,000 average home sale price (down 15.7% from a year ago) age 65+ under age 5 under age 18
$48,575 median household income
Total Operating + Non-operating
Revenues of $8,101,517 by Source
Total Operating + Non-operating
Expenses of $8,010,659 by Source
Transportation revenues 8%
State & local operating grants 55%
Federal operating grants 33%
Other 3%
Transportation services 92%
Administration 8%