To the editor:
As a private citizen, I wish to express my strong dissatisfaction with, and opposition to, the proposed Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) route changes announced on January 29, 26; revised route changes of February 3, 2026; and again revised route changes of February 12, 2026. I also strenuously object to the start of Link413 service, which began on January 28, 2026, without BRTA’s adherence to the Federal Transit Administration’s required public announcement and 60-day public feedback period, as required by Title VI.
While I agree that dependable BRTA service is essential, BRTA has been regularly cutting service on its routes, and when ridership falls, which it will with non-consistent service, BRTA has used lower ridership numbers to cut route times and service.
The problem may not be lower ridership at all but undependable service due to a shortage of drivers, as Administrator Kathleen Lambert said during the January 29, 2026, BRTA Advisory Board meeting.
Even with each of the revised plans, a shortage of five drivers remains—gaps that Administrator Lambert says management and other staff will attempt to cover. In light of this critical driver shortage, the launch of the regional Link413 service was premature and ill advised, as those two BRTA drivers could be used to reduce the driver shortage on local BRTA routes where service cuts are proposed. Any discussion that these drivers could not help relieve driver shortages on BRTA Berkshire County routes is nonsense.
As a South County resident, I am more familiar and focused on these routes. The service disruption caused by the proposed elimination of Route 921 Express from Great Barrington to Pittsfield, with key stops on the way, will not be filled by proposed changes to Routes 2 and 21, nor will the addition of Route 99 make any significant difference. Early morning service will be gone, with more lengthy times to get anywhere with more “milk run” service, if in fact those routes can deliver on the new times/stops. Every day in February, BRTA Service Alerts have decimated hours of service on these routes—especially on the 921. Has BRTA done any business or passenger surveys to understand the impact of their proposed route realignments?
As State Rep. Leigh Davis recently said in a February 17 press release, “Public transportation is not a luxury in the Berkshires — it is a lifeline.” We have also seen what the South County Connector micro-transit can do with a fraction of the funding BRTA receives to provide county bus services.
BRTA needs to put a full court press in place to hire, train, and retain bus drivers; contract with other transit providers where they cannot provide consistently reliable bus services in the short term; and go back to the drawing board on their proposed route realignments. It feels like BRTA is imploding and its riders are the casualties.
It is not too late to make your voice heard.
Despite BRTA Advisory Board members being asked to vote on March 4 on whatever the latest route revision is, I believe that each route revision requires another 60 days of public comment period under FTA’s Title VI regulations. With the last revision published on February 12, 2026, this would take the public comment period to approximately April 12, 2026. As a BRTA Advisory Board member, I will insist on adherence to Title VI requirements, and this will possibly allow for more thoughtful consideration by BRTA and increased driver recruitment.
Rene Wood
Sheffield
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