The Upper Valley's Advance Transit system has started a major project to enhance its service, including the replacement of most of its buses.
Advance Transit's improvement plan, started this spring, incorporates the use of new equipment and facilities to strengthen its customer base and satisfy commuter demand.
Under the plan, Advance Transit has replaced the majority of buses in its 14-bus fleet, according to Operations Manager Phil Poirier.
Provided by a variety of mass transit equipment manufacturers, the new $350,000 fleet features air conditioning and more comfortable seating, he said.
The new fleet is also wheelchair lift-equipped and features "turbo-charged" and "more fuel efficient" engine systems which "burn cleaner," he said.
In a project unrelated to Advance Transit's revampment program but associated with its continued success in meeting mass transit demand, a new service run between Hartland, Vt., and Hanover has been created.
Designed to meet an ever-increasing demand from commuters to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as well as provide bus service for school children in southern Vermont, the new run has also served to alleviate parking pressures currently plaguing the Hanover area, said Advance Transit Executive Director Van Chestnut
As a result of its various improvements, Advance Transit has realized substantial gains in passengers.
The private, non-profit organization has experienced a 21 percent increase in passenger volume for the fiscal year ended September 30 while increasing service hours by 3 percent.
Given such an increase in productivity, revenues have subsequently risen to $900,000 for the recently completed fiscal year, Chestnut said.
To pay for its capital improvements, Advance Transit relied on a variety of federal, state and local sources, including Dartmouth College itself.
Federal funds allocated under clean air promotion grants combined with various state clean air allocations provided a large part of the resources needed to replace Advance Transit's bus fleet.
The $50,000 annual cost of providing the Hartland, Vt., service line is covered by funds allocated under CMAQ, a Vermont state program designed to encourage mass transit usage. And the College provides most of the funding for the Hanover "shuttle," which runs through downtown Hanover to West Lebanon.
In spite of this current wave of improvement, innovation at Advance Transit is ongoing.
Widely accessible "bus service and shelters are better for everybody," Poirier said.
"We are working to coordinate with other agencies such as Health and Human Services and area senior centers to provide shelters. It is a lot of work to put together, but we're working to save the transportation dollar," he said.
