Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority

Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority

MVRTA garage at Haverhill station
Headquarters	85 Railroad Avenue Haverhill, Massachusetts
Service area	Northeast Massachusetts
Service type	bus service, paratransit
Alliance	MBTA, LRTA
Routes	25
Destinations	Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen, Andover, North Andover
Fleet	Gillig, Motor Coach Industries
Operator	First Transit
Website	mvrta.com

The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to an area consisting of the cities and towns of Amesbury, Andover, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury, as well as a seasonal service to the popular nearby summer destination of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire ^[1]

The MVRTA provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services within its area, together with services to Lowell and Boston. MVRTA's buses provide interchange with commuter lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) at Haverhill station, Lawrence station, Lowell station and Newburyport station.^[2]

The MVRTA started operation in 1976, having been created under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws. Since 1983, operation of the MVRTA has been subcontracted to First Transit, a subsidiary of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup.^[3][4]

Routes

Buses generally start service at 5:00, 5:30, or 6:00 AM, and the last bus for each route is at 6:00 or 7:00 PM.

01 and 41

• 01 Lawrence-Methuen-Haverhill
• 41 Lawrence-Lowell

Buses 01 and 41 are actually two segments of one continuous bus. From west to east, Bus 41 starts at the Lowell commuter rail station, which is also the terminal for the LRTA, and it goes into Dracut, Methuen, and Lawrence. At the Buckley Transportation Center, the bus switches numbers to become Bus 01, which then goes through a different part of Methuen, provides access to The Loop, and then goes into Haverhill, ending at the Washington Square Transit Station, near the Haverhill commuter rail. Most of this route is on Route 110.

Buses 01 and 41 run every half hour on weekdays and every hour on weekends.

13 through 18

• 13 Main Street/North Avenue
• 14 Bradford/Ward Hill
• 15 Hilldale Avenue/Haverhill Commons
• 16 Washington Street/Westgate Plaza
• 18 Riverside

These five buses are used for transport within Haverhill. Each of these buses is a shuttle between the Washington Square Transit Station, which is near the Haverhill commuter rail station, and another part of Haverhill. Bus 13 goes north to the New Hampshire border, Bus 14 goes south into Bradford, Buses 15 and 16 take different routes going west, and Bus 18 goes east.

These five buses run every hour on weekdays, leaving the Washington Square Transit Station on the hour. On weekends, the schedule is more irregular, usually (but not always) leaving twice every 2 hours and 15 minutes.

32 through 40 and 85

• 32 Andover
• 33 North Andover
• 34 Prospect Hill
• 35 Water Street
• 36 Lawrence Street
• 37 Beacon Street
• 39A Doctor's Park
• 39B Phillips Street
• 40 Methuen Square/ Village Plaza
• 85 Lawrence Downtown Shuttle

These ten buses leave the Buckley Transportation Center in Lawrence every hour, going in different directions. Buses 33, 39A, and 39B go to the North Andover Mall in different ways. Buses 32 and 33 provide access to commuter rail stations in Andover and Lawrence, respectively. Bus 35 mostly parallels Bus 41, going west into Methuen and ending just before reaching Interstate 93, while Bus 41 continues further. Bus 37 goes west along Andover St. into the western part of Andover, and Bus 40 goes north to Methuen.

Buses 34 and 85 travel within Lawrence, while Bus 36 is mostly in Lawrence but provides access to the Holy Family Hospital in Methuen. Bus 34 provides access to Lawrence General Hospital. Bus 85 travels in a loop around Downtown Lawrence.

These ten buses run every hour. On weekdays from 6 AM to 8 AM and 2 PM to 6 PM, they run every half hour. The buses all leave Buckley Transportation Center at the same time to reduce time spent waiting during transfers. ^[5]

51 and 54

• 51 Haverhill-NECC-Merrimac-Amesbury-Newburyport
• 54 Amesbury-Newburyport-Salisbury Beach

Buses 51 and 54, which are two numbers for one bus similar to 01 and 41, run from Washington Square Transit Station in Haverhill to Northern Essex Community College and the towns of Merrimac, Amesbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury, ending at Salisbury Beach. The section in Newburyport allows passengers to access the Newburyport station on the Commuter Rail. The bus is numbered 51 west of Amesbury and 54 east of Amesbury. Buses 51 and 54 are on a 70-minute cycle.

Boston Commuter Service

• 99 Boston Commuter Express

Bus 99 has stops in Methuen, Lawrence, and Andover once per day on weekdays. It then goes into Boston without access to any of the cities or towns in between Andover and Boston. The return trip in the afternoon starts in Boston and allows people to get off at the same stops where people were able to get onto the bus in the morning.^[6]

Other

• 21 Andover Shuttle
• 53 Newburyport Summer Shuttle
• 56 Northern Essex Community College
• 73 Haverhill- IRS/Raytheon
• 75 Lawrence- IRS/Raytheon
• 83 Lawrence-Haverhill-Salisbury Beach-Hampton Beach (summer only)

Bus 21 runs on a 70-minute cycle between Downtown Andover and the North Andover Mall.

Bus 73 runs once per day from Haverhill to Raytheon and IRS locations in Andover, while Bus 75 runs twice per day from Lawrence to the same Raytheon and IRS locations. These buses then do return trips in the afternoon.

During the summer, bus 83 runs twice per day from Lawrence through Methuen, Haverhill, Merrimac, and Amesbury to provide access to Salisbury Beach and Hampton Beach, and then does the return trip several hours later.

Fleet Roster

References

External links

• MVRTA official website

Coordinates: 42°45′56″N 71°05′29.3″W / 42.76556°N 71.091472°W / 42.76556; -71.091472