PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority has recorded its highest ridership in the history of the authority.

The BRTA recorded 731,444 for fiscal 2026 year, with fixed-route ridership at 666,000 passengers, paratransit (ADA) ridership at 65,000 passengers, and Link 413 ridership at 952 rides since it started earlier this year.

Administrator Kathleen Lambert and Operations Manager Benjamin Hansen said the higher ridership is likely thanks to the free fare. Free fare was first introduced to the BRTA in late 2024, this was the first full fiscal year and it won't be the last.

Lambert said she feels very good about the new number and while it's in part because of the fare free initiative, it's great to just be a service to the community.

"The point is, transit keeps more money in people's pockets if they're not paying for gas and transportation," she said. "I know there are improvements to be made, especially around frequency and different forms of opportunities to travel, and I want that to be the situation. But right now, we're kind of getting everything into shape, getting prepared for new service, and prepared for the next iteration of the RTA."

The high ridership also comes at a time of high route cancellations because of a lack of drivers. Lambert said the authority currently has 26 drivers with a goal of attaining 33 to 35. The new operating company, Keolis, is still looking for more hires. This past fiscal year, the BRTA saw 3,457 trips cancelled but hopes to have no cancellations by the end of September.

Hansen gave the ridership data at the July meeting, also showing off the new data that will be easily available on the website for anyone to view in an effort to be more transparent with the public.

The most affected routes were Route 1, the Pittsfield to North Adams Connector, and Route 2, the Pittsfield to Lee, which had more than 750 cancellations.

Although Route 1 had some of the most cancellations it still remained the most popular route with 176,123 riders through 9,729 trips. Route 34, the North Adams Loop, came in second with 127,147 riders also through 9,729 trips. Again, even though Route 2 had some of the most cancellations it came in third with 76,305 riders with 8,597 trips.

The Link413 service has also grown in ridership. Some on the board contested the start of the Link413 service, worried that the start of the service took drivers away and didn't see ridership high enough. The new data shows that the ridership almost doubled from the previous month from 179 in May to 313 in June.

Lambert also noted it was not possible to cut the service as it was properly approved and if they had to cut, they would have to give back their portion of the grant money, which would be impossible. She mentioned this to the group since former board member Rene Wood and others had asked to see what was possible with the service and when it was accepted and if it should still be running.

"We took the money, we ordered the vehicles. We took the vehicles. We've been running the service. To abandon the service is against the MassDOT contract. We do have a contract for the funds. We accepted all the money. If we rescind the contract, then we rescind the funds, and that means paying back a couple of million dollars, which we don't really have, and our portion would be at least one third of that, probably more because we run 50 percent of the service," Lambert said. 

The Link413 service is a partnership between the BRTA and the Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA), and Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). The most popular route is the Pittsfield to Northampton with over 60 percent of ridership.