Expressing it to Work...

For almost three years Peter Stamper has been a regular passenger on the #15 CTTransit express bus to work from Windsor to downtown Hartford. When he took a job at Travelers he tried driving to work for about three weeks. Peter said he simply could not stand it. “The commute on I-91, with bumper to bumper traffic, random delays, and people getting on and off was sending my blood pressure through the roof.”

The lack of parking in downtown Hartford, cutting down on wear and tear on his car and his employer’s incentive of a pre-tax subsidy is why Mark Dickerson of Meriden boards the #6 Cromwell express bus every day.

Maria Brechun takes the #9 Unionville express because she “doesn’t like to drive and the parking and gas are expensive.”

These downtown workers hail from the north, south and west of Hartford. Each has found commuting by express bus better than driving.

In 2006, on average 114,138 seats in Express buses in the Greater Hartford region were filled each month. Quite a savings in fuel consumption, auto emissions and congestion on our roads!

So who runs these express buses? It depends. All routes are subsidized by the Connecticut Department of Transportation but the carrier varies.

CTTransit operates twelve express routes from the suburbs into downtown Hartford. They can either look like regular CTTransit buses or coach buses and all are marked “Express” with a route number and place of origin. Towns served are Avon, Canton, West Hartford (Corbins), Manchester, So. Windsor (Buckland), Glastonbury, Newington, Farmington (Unionville), Rocky Hill (Century Hills), Simsbury, Granby, Enfield, Somers, Windsor Locks, Cromwell, Marlborough, Colchester and Windsor.

Bus fare for the 2,400 riders on these routes varies. There are three geographic zones with daily roundtrip prices between $4.50 and $7.20. The monthly or 31-day passes costs between $77 and $122.

The federal government gives people who take the bus to work a break on their income tax, too. As of January 2007, federal tax law allows commuters to set aside up to $110 per month to pay for mass transit (and vanpool fares) plus up to $215 per month for qualified parking. It's a pre-tax deduction that needs to be set up with your employer and the commuter tax benefit program provided by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. For more infomation see www.commutertaxbenefit.org.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation also contracts with private bus companies for express bus service. Collins, DATTCO, Kelley and Peter Pan Arrow buses bring commuters to Hartford from Willimantic, Mansfield, Columbia, Andover, Coventry, Bolton, Vernon, Old Saybrook, Essex, Chester, Middletown, Bristol, Plainville, Cheshire, Southington, Torrington, Winsted, Barkhamsted and New Hartford.

Taking the bus to work may be more flexible than people think. Some express bus routes have midday runs to accommodate passengers who work half days. Regular riders who purchase the monthly or 31-day pass buy peace of mind that they won’t be stranded at work if an emergency comes up.  These passengers are eligible for two free emergency rides each year to get to where they need to be.

For a full schedule of all express bus routes, including stops, see www.cttransit.com.    For assistance in finding a schedule that matches your commute and information about Free Trial rides, contact 800-972-3279 or cs@rideshare.com.