State to seek new bus transit contract

Bids to go out after Kelley shutdown

TORRINGTON — State transit officials were given a 72-hour notice that Kelley Transit Service was going to cease operations on Feb. 8.

“It was short notice, but we were able to pull it off and service was not interrupted,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Judd Everhart.

To continue the commuter bus service, the state is temporarily providing two express bus routes from Torrington and Winsted to Hartford on weekdays, Everhart said. Kelley had been under contract with the state for the route.

A request for proposals will be issued to find a new contractor, Everhart said, who will be “hired to run these routes.”

Transportation between Winsted and Torrington, which is provided by the “Candystriper” minibus service, is being operated by the Northeast Transportation Co., Everhart said, “until (the state) decides who will be running it in the future.”

The Northwestern Connecticut Transit District had operated the

mini-bus service until early this week, which it had done under a contract with Kelley Transit.

The state contracts were through Nason Partners LLC, doing business as Kelley Transportation Co., according to records.

In a Feb. 7 letter to the state Bureau of Public Transportation, John F. Nason, managing member of the corporation, wrote that the company would suspend service the next day.

Kelley Transit has possession of state property, which Nason noted in the letter. “Please inform me as to how and when you plan to pick up the buses and equipment.”

The buses that Kelley used for the commuter routes have a replacement value of nearly $487,000, state records show. A timeline for providing new buses to contractors said the transportation department had planned to replace one of Kelley’s stateowned buses in 2021 for that price.

The company filed for bankruptcy in 2011 to reorganize its business, according to previous reporting by The Register Citizen.

Kelley had provided service to Litchfield County and throughout Connecticut for over 150 years.