CTfastrak Coming to Manchester

On Monday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that the adopted 2016-17 biennial budget includes funding to expand CTfastrak east of the Connecticut River into East Hartford and Manchester.

The bus rapid transit system currently has 10 stations along the 9.4 mile bus-only roadway, which extends between New Britain, Newington, West Hartford and Hartford, partly along abandoned rail line and existing Amtrak rail line.

Expanding the state’s only bus rapid transit service east of the river will utilize $6.5 million in anticipated bonding as part of the five-year ramp-up plan of the Governor’s major statewide initiative to modernize Connecticut’s transportation system.

Expanded service into East Hartford and Manchester, and possibly additional towns, would utilize the existing HOV lanes on I-84.

The Hartford Courant reports that the state will build stations, additional parking, and possibly some additional exit ramps, but won’t be doing the massively expensive highway construction required for the New Britain busway.

There is no specific timetable for when full Manchester and East Hartford service would start, but the governor wants to have it done within a year.

The eastward expansion would also continue on to other communities. Vernon has been lobbying for service, and planners are looking for ways to connect to the University of Connecticut in Storrs.

A CTfastrak route runs from Manchester Community College through East Hartford to the busway and on to UConn Health. That line doesn’t have dedicated stations or parking lots and intervals between buses vary from 20 minutes to an hour. Its service frequency is far less than the main busway routes.

CTfastrak, which began service during the last week of March, averaged 14,500 daily commuters during the month of May. Prior to its launch, the CTtransit buses serving the area averaged 8,000 daily riders. In the coming weeks, the system is anticipated to celebrate its 500,000th rider.

“Extending CTfastrak to Manchester links 150,000 employees on the corridor and circulators. Linking jobs by modern rapid transit and building development around the rapid transit stations is crucial for our region’s economic future,” said Lyle Wray, Executive Director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments, in a prepared statement.

The CTfastrak system provides direct service to and from Waterbury, Cheshire, Southington, Bristol, Plainville, New Britain, Newington, West Hartford, Hartford, East Hartford, and Manchester with routes that take advantage of the bus-only CTfastrak roadway.

It provides a one-seat, no-transfer ride to many major regional employment, shopping, and healthcare destinations as well as connections to the New Haven Line-Waterbury branch rail in Waterbury and Amtrak service in Hartford.

A new 4.5 multi-use trail was built paralleling the CTfastrak bus-only roadway from New Britain to Newington Junction.