Manchester Transit Authority should not be confused with Transport for Greater Manchester.
| Manchester Transit Authority | |
| Founded: | 1973 |
| Headquarters: | 110 Elm St, Manchester, NH |
| Locale: | Manchester, New Hampshire |
| Service Area: | Greater Manchester, NH |
| Service Type: | bus service, paratransit, express bus service |
| Routes: | 13 |
| Destinations: | Greater Manchester, Concord & Nashua, NH |
| Hubs: | Veterans Park |
| Fleet: | Gillig 29' Low-Floor 1990 International Wayne 1992-1995 International Navi-Star Thomas All-American Blue Bird, IC 2000 International Navi-Star Thomas |
| Annual Ridership: | 484,474 (2016)[1] |
| Fuel Type: | Diesel, biodiesel |
| Ceo: | Michael Whitten |
The Manchester Transit Authority, or MTA, is a public transportation provider in Manchester, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded in 1973 and operates 13 regular bus routes through the city, including a free downtown circulator, which was rebranded as the Green DASH (Downtown Area Shuttle) in 2011. In general, service is hourly, with more frequent service along corridors served by multiple routes, and especially on the Green DASH.
It is a hub and spoke system that meets downtown at Veterans Park (labeled as Center of NH on southbound departing lines) with one line departing from the nearby Canal Street Transportation Center.
Service is generally limited to the city of Manchester, with a few lines extending into the neighboring towns of Bedford, Goffstown, Hooksett and Londonderry, and two express lines running to Concord and Nashua. Since July 2013, the MTA has offered weekday service between Concord and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, with most trips also stopping at the Center of NH hub in downtown Manchester, from 3:30 a.m. until 12:45 a.m.[2] The neighboring suburb of Bedford contributed funding to the MTA until 2010, and service coverage was significantly reduced within the town the following year. As of 2009, 97% of Manchester residents lived within one-quarter mile of an MTA bus line.[3]
The MTA is the public successor to Manchester's private bus service, which reached a peak annual ridership of 15.1 million in 1948, and the Manchester Street Railway that existed until 1940. The MTA was created by the City in May 1973, following requests by the private Manchester Transit bus provider for public subsidies.[4] As of 2005, the MTA served an average of 1,905 riders each weekday, though ridership has grown since that time despite budget cutbacks by the city and subsequent service cutbacks.[5] Ridership in 2011 had increased 21% over 2004, growing from 382,979 to 462,109 total rides. Service peaked for the decade in 2009 with 531,961 rides before falling as a result of service cuts in 2010 and recovering slightly in 2011. The general trend during the period, however, has been a growth in ridership.[6] In recent years, the MTA has sought to expand its ridership with new routes, such as the Green DASH and Concord Express, that are aimed at riders who might otherwise choose to drive.
In addition to the 13 public transit routes, the MTA operates a StepSaver paratransit service and two free Shopper Shuttle routes that operate three days a week.
Most MTA buses originate at Veterans Park in downtown Manchester. This is indicated on timetables and maps as Veterans Park, Downtown Radisson (a hotel in the park), or Center of NH (a convention center inside the hotel).
Routes are organized into four zones. Zone 1 routes are standard fare local routes (routes 1 through 12), Zone 2 routes are intercity routes and require a day or month pass to ride (routes 21 and 22), Zone 3 routes are special excursions, and Zone 4 routes are free to ride.
| Route | Starting point | Terminus | Operates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dartmouth/VA Hospital | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Dartmouth Hitchcock Manchester | Monday-Saturday | Runs along Bridge Street between Elm Street and Interstate 93 | |
| 2Hanover St/E. Industrial Park | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | E. Industrial Park (Massabesic Circle even hours) | Weekdays | Ends at E. Industrial Park odd hours; continues to Massabesic Circle even hours | |
| 2SHanover St/E. Industrial Park | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | East Side Plaza via Elliot Hospital | Saturday | ||
| 3Brown Ave/Airport | Canal St Transportation Center | Manchester-Boston Regional Airport | Weekdays | Serves Elliot at Rivers Edge by request only | |
| 4Commerce Drive/Target | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | 8 Commerce Drive, Bedford | Weekdays | Also serves Target | |
| 5SNHU/River Rd | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Southern New Hampshire University | Monday–Saturday | Evening service until 9:35pm | |
| 6Bremer St/Mast Rd | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Shaw's Pinardville, via St. Anselm College | Monday–Saturday | Operates as a counter-clockwise loop through Manchester's West Side | |
| 7Bedford Grove Plaza/Second Street | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Walmart Bedford | Monday-Saturday | Serves Bedford Hills Center by request only | |
| 8South Willow St/Mall of NH | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Mall of NH | Monday–Saturday | ||
| 9Elliot Hospital/E. Side Plaza | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | East Side Plaza | Weekdays | Five trips daily | |
| 10Valley St/Mall of NH | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Mall of NH | Monday-Saturday | ||
| 11Front St/Hacket Hill Rd | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Walmart Hooksett | Monday-Saturday | Evening service until 9:25pm | |
| 12So. Beech St/Mall of NH | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Mall of NH | Monday–Saturday | ||
| 21Concord Zipline | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | New Hampshire State House, Concord | Monday-Saturday | Formerly Concord Express. Requires a day pass or monthly pass | |
| 22Nashua Zipline | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Nashua Mall | Monday-Saturday | Formerly Nashua Express. Requires a day pass or monthly pass | |
| 41Green DASH | Veterans Park/Downtown Radisson | Circulator through downtown | Weekdays | Service is free | |
| 42, 43, 44, 45Shopper Shuttle | Once weekly | Service is free |
Originally, the buses were wrapped with historical images of Manchester. In an effort to boost ridership and publicize the service, the downtown circulator was rebranded as the Green DASH in 2011, and the buses were given a new, green color scheme that no longer obscures the windows and clearly marks them as a free loop bus.[7] The free service is funded through a combination of federal grants and parking revenue. This marks the second attempt by the MTA at offering free transit downtown, following a fourteen-block free-ride zone that began in 1974 but has since been discontinued.[8]
Several groups in Manchester are currently advocating for the creation of a streetcar/rail system for the Downtown and Millyard areas. The idea was first raised in the early 1990s and was resurrected in 2012 when Dean Kamen proposed it.[10] More concrete plans, proposing a public-private partnership with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, were put together in 2018 by Kamen's company DEKA, proposing the name Millyard People Mover.[11] [12] The MTA has not yet allocated money for planning or studies as of 2021.