University of Massachusetts Transportation Services

University of Massachusetts Transportation Services
UMass Transit/PVTA bus #3401 makes a stop at the UMass Fine Arts Center on N. Pleasant Street, operating the Route 31.
Parent
Headquarters255 Governors Drive
Amherst, Massachusetts
LocaleFive Colleges of the Pioneer Valley
Service areaFive Colleges campuses plus Amherst, Belchertown, Granby, Hadley, Northampton, South Deerfield, South Hadley and Sunderland
Service typeLocal bus transit, campus shuttle, field trip charter
AllianceFive Colleges
Routes10
Hubs
Daily ridership8,400 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[1]
Annual ridership2,280,500 (2023)[2]
Fuel typeDiesel, hybrid electric
General ManagerGlenn Barrington
WebsiteUMass Transit
Five College buses
PVTA.com

University of Massachusetts Transportation Services, abbreviated to UMass Transit Services or UMass Transit, is a department within the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) that provides mass transit services to the UMass Amherst campus and other members of the Five Colleges Consortium in eastern Hampshire County, as well as outlying towns. Similar to other large campus transportation systems, such as UGA Campus Transit in Georgia and Unitrans in California, UMass Transit buses are driven by students attending UMass Amherst. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 2,280,500, or about 8,400 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024.

Services

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Fixed-route services

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UMass Transit operates as a contractor for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), which is headquartered in Springfield, the largest municipality of the region. This setup exists because PVTA, as a regional transit authority established under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Statutes, is forbidden under Section 25 of the same statute from operating routes directly. PVTA thus contracts with the school to operate certain routes (other routes in the system are operated by First Transit employees). UMass Transit buses in fixed route service are owned by the PVTA and are painted in their standard livery. These buses are numbered in the 3000 series, and are between 35 and 60 feet in length. The 60-foot (18 m) buses were acquired in 2013 to accommodate student crowds on the North Pleasant Street through routes Gold 30 and Pink 31.[3]

Field trip services

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In addition to operating tendered services for the PVTA, UMass Transit also maintains an activity fleet of buses of various types for charter by student groups within the UMass Amherst community. These buses are generally painted to match the school colors of white and maroon.

Fixed routes

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The following routes are operated by UMass Transit Services on behalf of the PVTA. Most buses only display the destination.

UMass and Five Colleges routes

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Route Terminals Via Notes
30[4] N. Amherst
Puffton Village 		Amherst
Old Belchertown Road
(before Harkness Road) 		North Pleasant Street, Main Street, Belchertown Road
31[5] Sunderland
Sugarloaf Estates 		S. Amherst
The Boulders 		South Pleasant Street, North Pleasant Street, Amherst/Sunderland Road
  • Connections are available to FRTA Route 23 at Sugarloaf Estates several times a day on weekdays.
  • During full service periods, bypasses the Crestview Apartments stop between 2 PM and 6 PM on weekdays.
    • Crestview Apartments customers must use Route 30.
34/35[6][7] UMass Amherst Campus Shuttle University Drive, Commonwealth Avenue, North Pleasant Street, East Pleasant Street, Eastman Lane, East Pleasant Street, Massachusetts Avenue
  • Only operates during full service periods.
  • Both routes serve the same destinations, but travel in opposite directions.
    • Route 34 travels east past Haigis Mall, north past the Studio Arts Building, south through Orchard Hill, west past the UMass Transit garage, and counterclockwise via the Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
    • Route 35 travels west past Haigis Mall, south past the Studio Arts Building, north through Orchard Hill, east past the UMass Transit garage, and clockwise via the Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
    • Both Routes 34 and 35 service Parking Lots 11, 12, and 13.
38[8] Amherst
Haigis Mall, UMass 		S. Hadley
Mt. Holyoke College 		MA Route 116, North Pleasant Street
39[9] Northampton
Smith College


or
Hadley
Hampshire Mall

S. Amherst
Hampshire College


or
S. Hadley
Mt. Holyoke College

  • Only operates during full service periods and wintersession (January).
    • Regular weekday trips only operate between Smith and Hampshire College.
    • Weeknight and weekend trips operate between Hampshire College and Smith College or Hampshire Mall (alternating).
    • Additional weekday evening express trips operate directly between Smith and Mount Holyoke College (bypassing Hampshire College).
    • Weekday morning/afternoon Smith–Mt. Holyoke express trips are operated by PVTA's Northampton contractor and not by UMass Transit. Fares are collected on these trips.
    • Wintersession weekday trips operate between Smith and Mount Holyoke College via Hampshire College (partly shared with Route 38). Wintersession Saturday trips operate the same as full service weekend trips. No Sunday service during wintersession.

UMass Outreach routes

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These routes, operated by UMass Transit, are targeted not toward the UMass student body, but towards the year-round local population in the area.

Route Terminals Via Notes
33[10] Hadley
Stop & Shop 		N. Amherst
Mill Hollow Apartments/Puffers Pond 		Amity Street, East Pleasant Street, Eastman Lane, Cushman Center, Survival Center, North Pleasant Street
  • Operates in full service all year.
  • A combination of the former routes 32 and 37.
36[11] Amherst

Olympia Drive/Mather Drive

S. Amherst

Atkins Farms Market

North Pleasant Street, MA Route 116, East Pleasant Street
  • Only operates during reduced service periods (Thanksgiving, winter, spring, and summer breaks).
45[12] Amherst
Physical Sciences Building, UMass 		Belchertown
Belchertown Center 		North Pleasant Street, Main Street, Echo Hill/Gatehouse Road, Belchertown Road
  • Route 45 does not operate on weekends.
46[13] Amherst
Studio Arts Building, UMass 		S. Deerfield
Whately Park and Ride 		North Pleasant Street, Sunderland/Amherst Road, South Deerfield Center
  • Route 46 does not operate on weekends.
  • Route 46 runs in combination with the Route 31, having one morning and one evening trip.
  • Connections are available to FRTA Route 31 at South Deerfield Center, as well as FRTA Route 23 at Sugarloaf Estates in Sunderland.

Fares

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See also: Pioneer Valley Transit Authority § Fares

UMass Transit buses are not equipped with fareboxes or fare registers.

Students attending any colleges in the Five Colleges Consortium have a fee included in their tuition bills (service fee for UMass Amherst students and student activity fees for the other colleges) for each semester that prepays their bus fares for the semester and funds the Five Colleges bus system, along with fares on the B43 local route between Amherst College and Smith College via UMass. UMass Transit buses are free.

Holiday and school break service levels

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While the population of Amherst is nominally 39,263 as per the 2020 census, that figure includes the student population of the Five Colleges, many of whom are only part-time residents and who account for approximately 60 percent of that figure. As such, when classes are not in session, service is greatly reduced and often suspended on many routes, and other routes will have service ending early.

All UMass Transit service is suspended on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. On other days when classes are not in session, UMass Transit routes operate on a reduced service schedule.

References

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  1. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  2. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "UMass Transit Goes for Long Ride". Office of News & Media Relations, UMass Amherst. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  4. ^ "PVTA Route 30 Schedule" (PDF).
  5. ^ "PVTA Route 31 Schedule" (PDF).
  6. ^ "PVTA Route 34 Schedule" (PDF).
  7. ^ "PVTA Route 35 Schedule" (PDF).
  8. ^ "PVTA Route 38 Schedule" (PDF).
  9. ^ "PVTA Route 39 Schedule" (PDF).
  10. ^ "PVTA Route 33 Schedule" (PDF).
  11. ^ "PVTA Route 36 Schedule" (PDF).
  12. ^ "PVTA Route 45 Schedule" (PDF).
  13. ^ "PVTA Route 46 Schedule" (PDF).
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