Housatonic Area Regional Transit
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 Orion V #302 near the Danbury Pulse Point. |
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| Parent company | Housatonic Area Regional Transit |
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| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | 62 Federal Road Danbury, CT 06810 |
| Service area | Danbury, CT, and surrounding areas |
| Service type | Local and shuttle bus service |
| Routes | 9 |
| Fleet | 28 fixed route 34 demand response[1] |
| Daily ridership | 3,122 [1] |
| Operator | HART |
| Chief executive | Eric Bergstraesser |
| Web site | Official Website |
Housatonic Area Regional Transit, known popularly as HART, is the provider of public transportation for Danbury, Connecticut and surrounding communities. HART was founded in 1972 as the Danbury-Bethel Transit District by the two towns. The name was changed to HART in 1979 after the addition of other municipal members. The agency receives funding from municipal contracts, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration and (on a limited basis) the New York State Department of Transportation. Prior to HART's establishment, Danbury had gone without transit service since 1970 when the privately-owned Candlewood Bus Company which had replaced the Danbury Power & Transportation Company three years prior, folded. Unlike those predecessors, HART also provides service into the communities surrounding Danbury.
The municipalities served by HART are as follows:
- Connecticut: Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Bethel, Redding, New Fairfield, and Ridgefield. Norwalk and Wilton also see limited HART service but are served primarily by the Norwalk Transit District (aka "WHEELS").
- New York: Brewster, Katonah and Lewisboro. Brewster is also served by PART, while Katonah is primarily served by the Bee-Line Bus System
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[edit] Services
HART currently provides the following services:
- Urban Fixed Route: HART operates 7 urban fixed routes which run on a "pulse point" system in which all buses meet at a terminal in downtown Danbury to easily facilitate transfers. The site is near the Danbury Metro-North station and adajcent to the Peter Pan bus station.
- The Route 7 Link, operated with WHEELS, is a weekday-only commuter line which connects Danbury to Norwalk and surrounding communities.
- SweetHART: HART operates ADA paratransit service for the disabled which runs at hours that parallel the primary hours of fixed route service. This service is not offered to those in WHEELS territory or New York. HART also operates Senior (60 or older)/disabled SweetHART dial-a-ride service for Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Newtown, New Fairfield and Ridgefield, as well as some service to Roxbury and Redding under contract.
- Bus to Rail Service: Peak hour shuttles which connect Danbury to the Brewster station on the Harlem Line and Ridgefield to Katonah, also on the Harlem Line. A third shuttle, connecting New Fairfield to Southeast, is in the planning stages. [1]
- Nighttime/Sunday LOOP services: Funded in part by the Connecticut Department of Social Services, three routes serving Danbury, New Milford, Brookfield and Bethel operate during nighttime hours and on Sundays and holidays to offer increased economic opportunities to low-income workers though anyone can use these services.
- Danbury Trolley: On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the off peak period, HART runs a replica trolley service which connects the Danbury central business district with the Danbury Fair Mall and other points of interest.
[edit] Fleet
HART has had a long history with Orion Bus Industries, having purchased both the Orion I (and its US predecessor, the TMC CityCruiser) and the Orion V plus one example of the Orion VII low-floor bus which will soon enter service. Currently, HART operates Orion V and NovaBus RTS buses on fixed route service as well as El Dorado Aerotech and Startrans "Senator" body-on-chassis buses on LOOP and Shuttle routes and in SweetHART service. The Route 7 Link service is served by a mixture of New Flyer buses leased to HART from ConnDOT and Gillig low-floor buses owned by the Norwalk Transit District.
HART currently has an order for ten Gillig low-floor buses which will replace the RTS fleet and allow for some fleet expansion.
[edit] See also
- Norwalk Transit District
- Putnam Area Rapid Transit (the primary transit provider for Putnam County, New York)
- Bee-Line Bus System
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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