New Worcester Bus Creates First Springfield-Boston Transit Route

WORCESTER, MA — All that stands in the way of taking public transit all the way from downtown Springfield to downtown Boston is a 16-mile stretch of Route 9 between Ware and Spencer.

But an effort to create a new shuttle bus between UMass Amherst and Worcester's Union Station would close that gap, creating the first public transit link between the state's three largest cities.

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), which provides transit for a large region between Amherst and Agawam, has for months been working on the new route, which would be funded by the federal government. The bus would provide three round trips seven days per week between UMass and downtown Worcester.

From Worcester, riders would have access to the entire Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) service area, plus the MBTA's Framingham-Worcester commuter rail line. The new route would be provided by the Quaboag Connector, an on-demand shuttle that serves nine towns between Spencer and Belchertown.

The PVTA estimates a trip from UMass to Worcester would take just under 2 hours, and would cost $9. However, WRTA buses are free until at least the end of 2021. During a typical weekday, a commuter rail trip from Worcester to Boston takes just under 90 minutes, and a one-way trip costs $12.25.

The PVTA approved the UMass-Worcester bus plan at a meeting in May. Service was supposed to begin this week, but has been pushed back until mid-August, according to a PVTA spokesperson. An earlier proposal included a second stop in Worcester at Webster Square, but that was not included in the final version of the route.

The new bus route comes as MassDOT is in the early stages of studying a commuter rail line between Boston, Springfield and as far west as Pittsfield. The agency released a final study of the proposed east-west commuter line in January.