New route to debut
HART to expand commuter bus line on city’s west side
DANBURY — Commuters on Danbury’s bustling west side will have a new public transit option when the Housatonic Area Regional Transit opens a new bus route to the Reserve neighborhood after the New Year.
The west side of the city has become the fastest growing part of town, so the new route is a natural extension, said HARTransit CEO Eric Bergstraesser and Mayor Mark Boughton.
“That’s where we’re seeing so much of our growth over the past few years and over the next few,” Boughton said. “HART obviously recognizes that and they’ve been working on this for a while now.”
The so-called Reserve Commuter Connection will begin Jan. 7 and provide half-hour service during the morning and afternoon commute hours for the area essentially surrounding the Matrix Corporate Center.
The route will snake between BELIMO Aircontrols, Ann’s Place, Hotel Zero Degrees and the commuter parking lot at Exit 2, passing by condo complexes at Abbey Woods, Rivington and the Hills along the way.
The new route has been in the works for almost three years amid the construction of hundreds of new apartments, condominiums and homes across the western half of the city, HARTransit Director of Service Development Rich Schreiner said.
The actual launch of the new route also coincides with recently announced plans to redevelop the massive Matrix complex into more than 400 additional apartments with hundreds of thousands of square feet of office and retail space. The new development will only add to the demand in that area of the city, officials said.
HART has offered rides upon request in the area between Old Ridgebury and Saw Mill roads, but the commuter service will offer more sustained service for residents, Schreiner said.
Officials expect to see about 30 to 40 daily riders in the first year, he said.
The route will begin at 6:50 a.m. each morning and end at 8:45 a.m., making four trips between BELIMO and the park and ride lot at Exit 2, where riders can connect with the shuttle to the Brewster train station or connect with the rest of the HART route network.
It will resume again at 3:45 p.m. through 5:30 p.m. to link commuters with the afternoon shuttle from Brewster and the PulsePoint station downtown.
Regular cash fares for the service will be $1.75 and seniors or persons with disabilities will have discounted 85-cent fares. Ten-day and 30-day discount passes also will be available.
The project is considered a three-year pilot program to determine what the best route or routes will be for the growing west side, so HART officials will seek feedback from riders and will not shy away from making changes to the system.
“When we get near the end of the threeyear period, we’ll work with DOT to decide whether this is the most efficient way of serving this area,” he said. “There are all kinds of new approaches to transit now. Even though this is not really a traditional fixed-route service, it may be in some other form by the end. It’s a new thing, so we’re going to be flexible with it to find what works best.”