NEW BEDFORD – Bus service connecting the South Coast region and Boston will shut down in mid-April, leaving area residents without comparable transit into the Hub City until the opening of a new commuter rail station in late 2023.
DATTICO announced it will cease operation of its SouthCoast-Boston Express bus route on April 16 due to declining ridership. The route offered service from New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth and Taunton to South Station and Copley Square in Boston
The decision to end the service “was rooted in a sharp decline in ridership that had begun prior to the pandemic,” DATTCO spokesperson Dennis Lyons said in a statement to PBN.
“We adjusted service levels as much as we could and had hoped we would add back service as things reopened,” Lyons continued. “Instead, the trend toward working from home has decimated commuter bus services worldwide.”
The service averages 55-60 round-trip passengers daily, Lyons said, down from 100 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and its mid-1990s peak of 550.
DATTCO also considered “several years of considerable financial losses” and “the prospect of being forced out if business when commuter rail service in the region begins in a few months” Lyons said.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is currently constructing the long-awaited South Coast Rail line, which will extend commuter rail service into Boston to New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton. But the first phase of that project isn’t scheduled for completion until late 2023, leaving the area with a months-long service interruption.
According to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River are the state’s only major cities within 50 miles of Boston that lack commuter rail access into Boston.
DATTCO also “looked at options to both reduce our operating costs and increase fares substantially” when evaluating the bus service, the company said in a statement to passengers posted in mid-March.
“Unfortunately, we have not found a solution that would provide a cost-effective commute option for you, our passengers, while overcoming the deficit we have been experiencing for several years,” the statement continues.
The bus company said it was “taking steps to ensure continuity of the service through this date” in an attempt to provide “ample time for (passengers) to find an alternative to our service.”
The announcement advises passengers to seek other options through massridematch.com, though the only public transportation option that comes up for the cities is the regional Southeastern Regional Transit Authority.
If Rhode Island residents in communities bordering the South Coast relied on the bus service, alternatives include the Wickford Junction Station in North Kingstown, which has 20 weekday trips to Boston, and the newly-opened Pawtucket-Central Falls Transit Center, said Rhode Island Department of Transportation spokesperson Charles St. Martin. Commuters in the East Bay and Newport County areas can also reach the Providence Commuter Rail via RIPTA buses, St. Martin added.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
