Manchester Benefiting from Fastrak, Governor Says

HARTFORD, CT – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Tuesday said that, as CTfastrak reaches its second anniversary, towns and cities with stations along the bus rapid transit system are continuing to benefit from the growth of transit-oriented development as multi-use projects are reinvigorating neighborhoods along its route.

The bus rapid transit system launched on March 28, 2015 and provides direct service to and from town like Southington and Manchester with routes that take advantage of the bus-only CTfastrak roadway..

“Over the past two years, CTfastrak has exceeded all expectations – it is a transformative investment in our future,” Malloy said. “The data is showing that more and more people are continuing to take CTfastrak each day, and as ridership grows so does the development of new businesses, new jobs, and new opportunities along the region that it serves. We are seeing new mixed-used developments being created all along the route, bringing life to neighborhoods where just a few years ago there were eyesores. Because of decades of underinvestment, Connecticut has some of the oldest transportation infrastructure in the nation. It’s time to move us forward – let’s continue to build a best-in-class transportation system for our residents, let’s pass a constitutional transportation lockbox, and let’s work together to make that a reality.”

Said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker, "Two years into CTfastrak’s operations and it’s clear that "investing in smart, convenient alternatives to driving has resulted in consistently strong ridership that has surpassed all short term ridership targets, already more than doubled corridor ridership, and looking to triple previous ridership in the corridor within the next two years. Not only has CTfastrak exceeded passenger demand forecasts with impressive growth month after month, it has also brought about continued TOD and economic growth along the system’s corridor.”

During the full 2016 calendar year, CTfastrak carried more than 5.5 million riders. Additional statistics about CTfastrak ridership are available online at www.ct.gov/dot/ctfastrak.

For information about CTfastrak, visit www.ctfastrak.com, connect via Facebook at www.facebook.com/ctfastrak or via Twitter at @ctfastrak.

Route timetables are available atwww.cttransit.com under the “Routes/CTfastrak” tab. The latest information on the more than 60 businesses participating in the CTfastrak Rewards program is available at www.ctfastrak.com/rewards.

Photo Credit: CT.gov