6/21/2013
Contact: Angela Gates
202-366-3669

FALL RIVER, Mass. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) celebrated today’s opening of the new Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) bus terminal, which will significantly improve public transit service and passenger amenities for thousands of daily bus riders in southern Massachusetts. FTA Deputy Regional Administrator Peter Butler joined state and local officials at the event.

The U.S. Department of Transportation provided approximately $3.7 million for the $5.2 million project, including $1.8 million in FTA funds, $912,300 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and $950,000 in other DOT funds. The remaining funds were provided by state and local government.

“President Obama is committed to modernizing our nation’s transportation infrastructure and bringing good transportation choices to more Americans,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This investment in the historic Fall River community will provide transit riders with convenient and reliable access to 21st century transportation services for years to come.”

Named the Louis D. Pettine Transportation Center, the new bus terminal includes an enclosed, climate-controlled passenger waiting area, five off-street bus bays to accommodate 14 bus routes that serve approximately 3,500 riders each day, a full-service ticket counter, public restrooms and space for a future coffee shop. The new center replaces a small mobile trailer that provided few passenger amenities and had been a temporary fix since 2006.

“Commuters from Fall River, New Bedford, and Dartmouth have waited seven long years for a permanent, state-of-the-art bus terminal that connects them with jobs and other destinations between Providence and Boston,” said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff. “This new facility will help SRTA operate more efficiently while attracting a new generation of riders in southeastern Massachusetts to public transportation.”

The 8,000 square-foot facility opens to passengers on July 1 and will provide local SRTA bus service as well as intercity bus service to Boston and Providence. SRTA serves 10 communities in southern Massachusetts, with the majority of service focused in Fall River and New Bedford.