Express bus service linking the Pioneer Valley with Berkshire County will begin next month, part of a statewide effort to improve regional transit systems.
MassDOT Rail and Transit Administrator Meredith Slesinger gave the update in an interview while announcing $10 million funding to regional transit authorities to support 16 projects.
The new but long talked about bus service will be called Link413 and already has a presence on social media.
The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, in cooperation with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and Franklin Regional Transit Authority, plan two express bus routes linking Pittsfield to Northampton and North Adams to Greenfield.
Last week, MassDOT announced $1.57 million for the project, according to Pioneer Valley Transit Authority spokeswoman Brandy Pelletier.
That follows $4.4 million the state granted two years ago to rehab the vehicles, money previously announced by Berkshire Regional Transit Authority.
The transit systems are not linked now.
Peter Pan Bus Lines runs from Albany, New York, to Williamstown, Pittsfield and Lee in Massachusetts, along with Springfield.
Also announced last week was the second year of funding for Valley Connectors totaling $1.7 million, Pelletier said in a statement.
Valley Connectors is a service of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority in partnership with Franklin Regional Transit Authority.
The connectors are Northampton-to-Southwick fixed routes in PVTA’s service area, including micro transit, flexible on-demand service, in Southampton and Southwick. It is also a continuation of funding for service from Pelham to Greenfield.
It’s also a continuation of the X94 bus serving East Longmeadow through Springfield to Ludlow.
And a proposed new route from Ware to Holyoke is also included.
“What we are trying to do and this administration has been very focused on is access,” Slesinger said. “Getting people to where they need to go.”
Bus ridership statewide is returning to pre-pandemic levels.
