Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation

Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation
Founded 1981
Headquarters 42 Sumner Drive
Locale Dover, New Hampshire, USA
Service area Strafford County, New Hampshire
Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Service type Bus service, paratransit
Routes 12
Fleet 24
Website www.coastbus.org

The Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) is the primary provider of mass transportation for the Seacoast region of New Hampshire, as well as parts of southern Maine. COAST is a non-profit agency founded in 1981 to provide public transportation options in southeastern New Hampshire. First established solely as a private contractor to previously-existing bus lines, COAST now runs its own set of public transit routes and transports almost 500,000 passengers per year.

Fleet

COAST operates a fleet of 37 vehicles, including standard transit buses, trolley replicas, cutaway vans, and accessible minivans as part of its regular service. COAST's operating fleet consists of the following (as of 2013):

Transit buses

Vans

Fixed-route system

Year-round services

Regional routes

COAST's four regional routes, particularly routes 1 and 2, have historically been the backbone of its transit operations.

Route Established Destinations Operates Notes
Route 1

(Dover, Somersworth, Berwick)

 1982 Dover Transportation Center, Whittier St., Somersworth, Berwick, Maine Weekdays 5:30am–7:30pm, Saturdays 6:40am–7:30pm Route 1 provides hourly service on weekdays to downtown Somersworth and Berwick, Maine. It also serves the Dover Housing projects on Whittier Street. The route operates on a reduced schedule on Saturdays. Until 2012, it was the only COAST route to serve any destinations in Maine.
Route 2

(Portsmouth, Dover, Rochester)

 1982 Portsmouth, Newington (Fox Run Mall), Dover, Somersworth (NH 108), Rochester Weekdays 5:25am–10:00pm, Saturdays 6:45am–10:00pm Route 2 serves one of the most widely-used transportation corridors in the state and consistently has the highest ridership of all COAST routes. Between downtown Portsmouth and Rochester, Route 2 serves the Fox Run Mall in Newington, downtown Dover, and the NH 108 corridor in Somersworth. It operates on a reduced schedule all day on Saturdays. In 2012, Route 2 service was expanded northward to East Rochester during commuter periods as part of a service expansion.
Route 6

(Farmington, Rochester)

 1996 Farmington, Rochester Weekdays 5:50am–6:30pm Route 6 extends COAST's service northward from Rochester into Farmington and has been steadily gaining popularity since its establishment in 1996.
Route 7

(Exeter, Stratham, Newmarket, Greenland, Pease Tradeport, Malls)

 1996 Exeter, Stratham, Newmarket, Greenland, Pease International Tradeport, Newington (Fox Run Mall) Weekdays 6:40am–6:30pm Route 7, COAST's lone east-west route, serves a corridor otherwise completely lacking in public transportation. It connects downtown Exeter to the Newington malls and Pease International Tradeport via Greenland, Stratham, and Newmarket. It offers connections to the Amtrak Downeaster in Exeter.

Local routes

COAST currently operates three "local routes", one in the city of Dover and two in the city of Portsmouth. Route 33 provides local service to Sixth Street and the Strafford County Complex in Dover, while Routes 40 and 41 constitute the trolley routes serving downtown Portsmouth and Pease International Tradeport.

Route Established Destinations Operates Notes
Route 33 (Dover FastTrans) 2008 Dover Transportation Center, Sixth St., C&J (NHDOT Park & Ride), Strafford County Complex Weekdays 6:30am–5:00pm Route 33 is the lone remaining route from the FastTrans project in Dover, having been the only one with consistent ridership during its first four years of service. Route 33 used to be a larger route, serving Portland Avenue and the Dover Arena with on-request service to Court Street. Following the end of the FastTrans grant, Route 33 was truncated to the Dover Transportation Center, and several runs were later eliminated due to low ridership.

Its current route along Sixth Street to the Strafford County Complex was preserved. There exist several on-call stops along the route, with connections to C&J Trailways at the NHDOT Park & Ride facility and to regional routes 1, 2, 3 (and the Amtrak Downeaster) at the Dover Transportation Center.

Route 40 (Pease Tradeport Trolley) 2000 Market Square, Islington St., Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Portsmouth Transportation Center, Pease International Tradeport, Fox Run Mall Weekdays 6:10am–9:15pm, Saturdays 7:15am–8:30pm The Pease Trolley route was the second trolley route to be introduced in Portsmouth by COAST (after the seasonal Downtown Loop), but was the first to provide year-round service. It connects downtown Portsmouth to the Newington malls via Pease International Tradeport, with hourly service during the day.

Half-hourly service during commuter hours was added as part of a service expansion in 2012 (along with Route 2).

It offers connections to regional routes 2, 4, and 7 and runs in tandem with the Lafayette Road Trolley (Route 41) in a continuous loop. The Trolley routes run on a reduced schedule on Saturdays.

Route 41 (Lafayette Road Trolley) 2003 Court Street, Middle Street, Lafayette Road (US 1) Weekdays 6:00am–9:00pm, Saturdays 7:30am–9:00pm The Lafayette Trolley route was established in 2003 over what used to be part of Route 2 and receives consistently strong ridership throughout the year. It serves various residential and commercial locations along Lafayette Road (U.S. Route 1).

The Lafayette Trolley connects with regional routes 2 and 4 at Market Square and runs in tandem with the Pease Tradeport Trolley (Route 40) in a continuous loop. The Trolley routes run on a reduced schedule on Saturdays.

Clipper Connection (Commuter express routes)

The Clipper Connection is the colloquial term for COAST's commuter express routes, which were launched in 2012. The Clipper Connection routes are intended to provide express connections for commuters to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) in Kittery, Maine, Pease Tradeport, and downtown Portsmouth.

COAST currently operates three routes providing service to the communities of Dover, Rochester, and Somersworth in New Hampshire, as well as Berwick, South Berwick and Eliot in Maine. COAST also extends two runs of Route 41 to provide service between PNSY and Portsmouth. A late-afternoon run servicing Dover and Rochester, originally numbered 102, was cancelled due to low ridership and re-established as an extension of Route 2 instead.

Route Established Destinations Notes
Clipper Connection Route 100 2012 Somersworth, Berwick, South Berwick, Eliot, PSNY, Portsmouth (Market Square) Express commuter service to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PSNY) via High St. (NH 9) and Maine Route 236, with service continuing to Market Square in downtown Portsmouth.
Route 100 is the most-used of the Clipper Connection routes, its high ridership having necessitated a second bus in regular service. The buses arrives at PNSY at approximately 6:33 AM, with departures at 3:40 PM and 5:10 PM returning to Somersworth.
Clipper Connection Route 101 2012 Dover, PSNY Express commuter service to PSNY via NH 155, Dover Transportation Center, and Central Avenue (NH 9/NH 108).
The morning bus arrives at PNSY at approximately 6:38 AM, and the afternoon bus departs at 3:40 PM. Route 2 provides service from PNSY to Dover at 5:10 PM.
Clipper Connection Route 103 2013 Rochester, PSNY Express commuter service to PSNY via downtown Rochester (City Hall) and Exit 13 Park and Ride.
The morning bus arrives at PNSY at approximately 6:25 AM, and the afternoon bus departs at 3:40 PM. Route 2 provides service from PNSY to Rochester at 5:10 PM.
Route 103 used to provide additional commuter service to Pease Tradeport, but service was cut in summer 2014 due to low ridership. This route was later reorganized (see Route 20 below).
Route 101 served both Rochester and Dover when the Clipper Connection was first launched in 2012. Rochester service was split into a separate route a year later, owing to high ridership and scheduling changes.

References

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