Company Ending North Shore To Boston Commuter Bus Service

PEABODY, CO — Coach Company, a New Hampshire-based bus company, will offer the last trip on its Boston commuter route from Boxford, Georgetown, Newburyport, Peabody and Topsfield on April 19. In a Facebook post, the company said that it had run the route for 40 years but was forced to end service because of cuts in states subsidies.

"We had always been subsidized by the State to help operate the commuter service but, in the Deval Patrick era, we and all the other commuter transportation providers had our subsidy cut," the company said. "We did what we could to try and make it work but unfortunately we have reached the point where we can longer afford to operate the commuter service."

Coach Co. will offer refunds on unused tickets after April 19. Ticket holders can mail unused tickets to Coach Co Ticket Returns, PO Box 423, Plaistow NH 03865 for a refund.

The timing could be problematic for many on the North Shore; the service shutdown comes less than a month into a two-year MassDOT project to make repairs to Route 1 and the Tobin Bridge.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).