Great Barrington — Proposed cutbacks by Berkshire Regional Transit Authority to its bus routes may result in longer travel times for residents.
The cuts were the topic of discussion at the Selectboard’s meeting on Monday, February 9.
According to Assistant Town Manager and Town Planner Chris Rembold, BRTA is proposing the full elimination of the BRTA Route 921 Express, which travels back and forth from Great Barrington to Pittsfield. BRTA’s website lists that the bus route operates Monday through Saturday and stops at the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center in Pittsfield, Lee Center, Stockbridge Center, Barrington Plaza, Great Barrington Center on Main Street, and the Fairgrounds Plaza at the Big Y.
According to Rembold, BRTA is also proposing a reduction of the Route 21 bus service between Great Barrington and Lee.
In total, Rembold said BRTA is proposing to cut 11 out of the current 18 Great Barrington weekday bus trips, approximately a 45 percent cut in its regular service levels.
“If these ‘route realignments’ are approved, it would mean the doubling of ride time between Great Barrington and most other towns,” Rembold told the Selectboard. “To get from Pittsfield, not only will you have fewer options, but it will also take two hours to get to Great Barrington.”
“I don’t know who thought this was a good idea for South County,” Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon remarked. “If you live in Pittsfield, which a lot of people do because they can’t afford to live out here, and work in South County, it’s almost impossible to do both.”
“Speaking from a personal standpoint, to get to jury duty [from Great Barrington to Berkshire Superior Court in Pittsfield] would not be possible,” Rembold added.
Selectboard member Philip Orenstein is the town’s representative to the BRTA Advisory Board. “I’m relatively new to this committee, but I can definitely say that we’re not their highest priority,” he said. “The tricky part is that a new executive director came in a few months ago and almost immediately these proposed changes came out,” Orenstein added, referring to Administrator Kathleen Lambert, who was hired by BRTA in late October.
“[BRTA] is saying that, in part, these changes represent a diminished ridership on the part of South County residents,” Orenstein said. “Our response is that some part of that is because the scheduling has been so erratic due to the shortage of drivers. What is going on is finger-pointing in different directions.”
“Are they going to change their name because they’re not in service to Berkshire County anymore?” Selectboard member Ben Elliott asked.
In response, Orenstein said he has noticed BRTA making an increased effort to connect North County with the Hilltowns through new bus routes. “I can’t speak to whether it’s deserved or not, but it’s sort of striking that this initiative is going on, whereas they are looking to cut services,” he said. “At whose expense are they doing this?”
The board eventually unanimously approved a motion for Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove to draft a letter listing the board’s concerns to BRTA.
The Selectboard will review and vote on the letter at its next meeting on Monday, February 23.
However, Selectboard member Garfield Reed said he did not think a letter from the Selectboard to BRTA would make a difference. “If we’re not going to increase our ridership, we can do this until we’re blue in the face,” he said. “Everything is a dollar bill, and if we’re not generating any money for them, then they’re not going to come here. I don’t know how we can make people take the bus more often, because that’s what it really is. Everything revolves around the dollar bill.”
BRTA has scheduled multiple public meetings for public input on the potential route changes.
Virtual meetings via Microsoft Teams are scheduled for Thursday, February 12, at 4 p.m.; Thursday, February 19, at 12 p.m., and Thursday, February 26, at 6 p.m.
An in-person meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, at 3:45 p.m. at 1 Columbus Avenue in Pittsfield.
More information on the public meetings can be found here.
Public comments can be sent via email to info@berkshirerta.gov.
The BRTA Advisory Board is expected to decide on the proposed changes at its next meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 4.
