Pittsfield Council Sees BRTA's Proposed Route Changes
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority's new administrator outlined proposed route realignments to the City Council last week for fiscal year 2027.
The plan, which is open to public feedback, would eliminate a few routes and create a new route to address driver shortages. Administrator Kathleen Lambert said reliability is the only thing BRTA has, and it hasn't been as reliable as it should or could be.
"As you know, one of the things that we do is we strive to be on time, provide the service that we say we're providing to our customers, and make that guarantee so that they can get that ride to work, or to the doctor's office, or to school out at [Berkshire Community College]," she said.
Lambert reported that the BRTA is having a "really hard time right now," because there are not enough drivers to run its current routes. The regional transit authority has put forward the realignment plan as it continues to seek staff.
"What we've proposed is to reduce some of the very late schedule rides and also cut some routes down and remove one route altogether," she explained.
A new route, Route 999, would go through Pittsfield, North Adams, and Great Barrington and operate the Pittsfield Walmart Express (Route 912) a couple of times a day to serve high-demand places. It was designed to replace the 1A and 2A trips.
BRTA currently operates 36 weekday runs with 26 available drivers, leaving 10-13 open runs available for coverage each day. The proposed plan reduces weekday service to 30 runs between the 26 drivers, reducing open runs available for coverage to about five per day.
Saturdays would remain the same, with 15 drivers covering 20 runs.
Service change proposals:
• Elimination of Routes 1A, 2A, 21A, and 921.
• Evening service reductions on select routes, using data-driven decisions, where ridership declines.
• Elimination of Route 14, now serviced as an extension of Route 12 to 8:55 PM.
• Route 21(B) operates as an all-day South County Loop with extended evening service.
• Route 34 concludes service at 8:15 PM with the last inbound trip as Route 1 ending at the ITC at 9:25 PM before returning to the garage.
• BRTA will introduce Route 999, a limited-stop regional connector preserving north-south county mobility through North Adams, Adams, Cheshire, Lenox, Lee, and Stockbridge.
The goal is to stabilize daily operations, reduce service cancellations, and support the launch of future regional connectivity services. BRTA has also joined the Link413 collaboration that offers customers three new, longer-distance, weekday bus routes across four counties.
Lambert said the BRTA has received quite a few comments and has adjusted schedules as they go along. She stepped into the position late last year after being selected by the BRTA Advisory Board in September.
"We're doing everything possible to provide the most reliable service we can," she told councilors.
The BRTA also received a grant for a driving simulator that enables training for different commercial driving licenses, which will help with onboarding, and has been looking into new software to provide same-day reservations for ADA passengers and seniors.
Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey expressed concern about scaling back routes when it is this cold, explaining, "Public transit around here is tough. It's a rural area, we don't have trains, even though we should, so people rely on your service."
Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso asked about the buses no longer picking up riders in Allendale Shopping Center. The owners reportedly experienced issues with crime and loitering, and the bus shelter was moved to Route 8.
Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi remembered when she first moved to Berkshire County and relied on the bus to get around, as well as rides from friends and family.
"I did take the BRTA like through the entire county, and it's a whole day event," she said.
"It's really difficult, and especially if you're trying to get to your job or family or medical appointments, it's a lot, so when you say how seriously you're taking this, you're trying to make sure you're able to service these needs, I hear you, and I know that's true."
Tags: BRTA, bus routes,
