The Connecticut Department of Transportation said Wednesday that bus service from Hartford to the University of Connecticut in Storrs won’t start until late 2017.
But local bus services in Manchester and East Hartford will see longer hours of service, with the last bus running at 11 p.m. rather than the current 8 p.m., beginning in September, DOT officials said at a presentation in Town Hall.
Lisa Rivers, the DOT’s transportation supervising planner, led the presentation, which featured consultants Jim Wensley and Jake Argiro, respectively transportation planner and engineer for Parsons Brinckerhoff.
The three gave new details on expansion of CTFastrak services east of the Connecticut River, including the current Silver Lane route from Manchester Community College to Hartford and a new line along Burnside Avenue, adding connections between Hartford and the Buckland Hills shopping complex.
A Buckland area shuttle will connect stores and other entertainment options in the area to the UConn-Hartford bus service.
The new lines will help a number of people get to and from the Buckland area, allowing UConn students in Storrs and residents along Interstate 84 access to employment, entertainment, and shopping.
Officials said the plan also will give students a way to get to Union Station in Hartford for bus or train connections, and will help students looking for employment or housing.
The UConn line would connect to CTFastrak’s Sigourney Station in Hartford and stop at commuter lots along I-84, including the Buckland lot, where riders could switch to the Buckland shuttle to get to the Buckland Hills mall and other retail areas, movie theaters, and restaurants.
The shuttle will be timed to meet riders, running through the area every half-hour.
Changes on the Silver Lane line include dropping the least-popular stops to increase efficiency, officials said. Local bus service will still be offered to those stops.
The Burnside Avenue bus service will start at the shopping center and run with limited stops, possibly extending as far as Flatbush Avenue in Hartford.
The new UConn and Burnside lines will run hourly from 5 a.m. to midnight on weekdays, with shortened hours on weekends, while the Buckland shuttle will run every half-hour from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays and 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Officials said the DOT is in the process of acquiring additional buses for the routes. Operating costs are estimated at $1.4 million for the UConn line, $2.811 million for Burnside Avenue, and $998,000 for the Buckland shuttle, before capital improvement upgrades are taken into account.
About 25 percent of that will be recovered by riders’ fares. Officials didn’t identify a source for the remaining funds.
Capital costs include 12 new buses, including nine CTfastrak buses and three commuter coach buses, as well as upgrades to at least three bus stops in commuter lots in Manchester, Vernon, and Tolland, and upgrades to up to 24 stops on the Burnside Avenue and Silver Lane lines.
Construction on those stops isn’t likely to reach completion until 2018, officials said.
Manchester Town Manager Scott Shanley expressed concern that the Buckland commuter lot may see a major increase in use, which should be considered in designing shelters. Argiro promised that concern would be taken into account during the design process so riders wouldn’t be left in the rain or snow.
