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The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) is your public transportation service. The MVRTA serves the northeast corner of Massachusetts with over 1 million miles of scheduled bus routes, and elderly and disabled transportation.

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Transit Alerts

We will be closed on Sunday, March 31, 2024, in observance of Easter Sunday. There will be no bus or van service on this day. We will be running a Saturday schedule on Saturday, March 30 and a normal schedule on Monday, April 1, 2024.

The main office will be closed on Sunday, March 31, 2024, in observance of Easter Sunday.

We are moving our bus hub from the Buckley garage to the McGovern Transportation Center (the MBTA Train Station). This move will give our riders a more comfortable and less congested space to catch our buses. Our goal is to still serve downtown Lawrence with the same high-quality service we do today, and we need your help to figure out where our buses should go. This is a great opportunity to make sure our routes serve you best.

Construction will be starting on Monday, March 11, 2024, to the Summer.  There will be no vehicle access or parking on the ground level.  There will be free 30-minute parking for pick up/drop off on the upper floors.

McGovern will be serviced from Merrimack Street. Provincial bus stop signs will be posted.

As of Monday, February 26, 2024, route 27 will be serving Plaza 114 from Durso Ave. on both the Outbound and Inbound.

Outbound from Winthrop Ave: Continue straight, right onto Durso Ave. to regular routing.

Inbound from Durso Ave: left onto Winthrop Ave. to regular routing.

GREAT NEWS! Starting on January 2, 2024, MeVa is running on Sundays!

Routes 1, 2, 8, 10, 13, 17 & 24 will be running on Sundays, with departures out of Buckley and Haverhill Transit – every hour – from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
In addition to Sunday service:
* Route #1 will run every 30 minutes from 7 AM – 7 PM on Saturdays
* Route #2 will interline with Route #8 on Sundays only
* Route #3 will have an additional Inbound trip at 7:00 PM, and will be serving Andover/North Andover YMCA from Haverhill St. & Doctors Park from Waverly Rd.
* Route #4 will have an additional Inbound trip at 7:00 PM
* Route #6 will have an additional Inbound trip at 7:00 PM
* Route #8 will interline with Route #2 on Sundays only
* Route #13 will interline with Route #18, Monday – Saturday
* Route #17 will not utilize Kenoza St to Elliot St – will not serve NECC on Sundays – and time points are different from weekday and Saturday service
* Route #14 will be extended to Amazon facility located at 1600 Osgood Landing, North Andover. Outbound will stay on S. Main St/Route 125. It will no longer utilize Boston Rd to Oxford Ave and will serve Cedardale from S. Main St/Route 125
* Route #18 will interline with Route #13, Monday – Saturday

Beginning January 2, 2024, we will be eliminating the 7:00am outbound trip and the 4:20pm inbound trip to and from the IRS and Raytheon due to low or zero ridership.

Some passengers utilizing the service may be eligible for mini MeVa paratransit due to age (over the age of 60) or disability and just require advance phone reservation. If interested, please call the mini MeVa office for more information at 978-469-6878 option #3.

The following will be the only Route 26 rides starting January 2, 2024:

OUTBOUND M-F
Buckley Transportation Center 5:55am
S Broadway & Mt Vernon St 6:00am
Raytheon Corporation 6:15am
Internal Revenue Service 6:25am
INBOUND M-F
Internal Revenue Service 3:20pm
Raytheon Corporation 3:35pm
S Broadway & Mt Vernon St 3:45pm
Buckley Transportation Center 3:55pm

Good News Lawrence!

***NEW 30 MINUTE SERVICE***

Starting Tuesday September 6, 2022, all buses out of Lawrence operate every half hour, with departures out of the Buckley Transportation Center on the hour & half hour,

M-F 5:00AM-7:00PM!!!

The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) board voted unanimously to go fare-free for all local fixed routes and EZ Trans paratransit services starting March 1, 2022.

Latest News

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New year, New Service: MeVa Buses Will Be Running Sundays Starting in January

HAVERHILL – We live in a seven day a week world and thanks to a boost in state funding from the Massachusetts Legislature and Governor Healey, MeVa’s buses will be adding Sunday service to its schedule starting Sunday January 7, 2024.  MeVa selected seven of its routes for Sunday service based on Saturday ridership, input from passengers and the community, and service to areas with a high concentration of Sunday employment, shopping, and places of worship. Sunday service was also designed to maximize coverage across MeVa’s service area and will serve every fixed route community except for Groveland and Newburyport.

Methuen resident Joey McDonald, 18, was thrilled about the addition of Sunday service because of the direct benefit to him and his family. “My mom works full time at the Loop,” he noted, “so now she can ride the free #1 bus to work on Sundays instead of paying expensive cab fares. On my end,” he added, “I will be able to go to the gym on Sundays, so the added service will keep me healthy!”

The routes that will be running on Sundays are the #1, which connects Lawrence with Haverhill via the Loop, the #2, which connects Lawrence with Andover via South Broadway, the #8, which connects Lawrence with North Andover via Parker Street/South Union Street and Colonial Heights, the #10, which connects Lawrence with Methuen via Broadway, the #13, which connects Haverhill with Plaistow NH via Main Street and North Avenue, the #17 which connects Haverhill with Merrimac, Amesbury, and Salisbury Beach, and the #24, which connects Lawrence with Lowell via Route 110. Buses will depart hourly from MeVa’s Transportation Centers at Buckley and Washington Square starting at 9am with the last bus departing at 5pm.

In addition to the new Sunday service, MeVa will also be extending Saturday service on Route #1 until 7pm and will run on 30 minute frequencies all day long. They will be also be adding previously unserved holidays to the schedule, including Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, Patriots’ Day, Juneteenth, Columbus Day and Veterans Day. The #14 will also extend from its current terminus in Ward Hill to Osgood Landing and the new Amazon distribution facility, while the #3 will start serving the Andover/North Andover YMCA via Route 133.

MeVa Transit is one of 15 Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) across Massachusetts, which together serve the majority of communities in the state. The added Sunday service along with the later evening service introduced this past September were made possible by a $56 million increase in funding for RTAs statewide that was included in the 2024 state budget. With the added dollars, Massachusetts RTAs finally have the resources to deliver a baseline of service that brings transit equity to areas outside Boston and Route 128.

State Representative Frank A. Moran held up MeVa’s Sunday service as exemplary of what the legislature was seeking when he and his colleagues voted to increase funding for RTAs. “We need to invest in reliable, frequent, seven-day public transportation because it is an essential asset that allows those in our community to access employment, educational opportunities, and more,” he said.  “I would like to thank MeVa,” he added, “for extending their bus schedules to provide transportation on Sundays, which will allow our residents, especially the very young and old, to have additional flexibility and freedom to connect with every opportunity.”

Of course even with the new funding, the added service is only possible because despite a national driver shortage, MeVa has been able to recruit and retain a staff of professional drivers to cover the new runs. Thanks to a lot of hard work and creativity by MeVa’s human resources team, the agency has been able to grow its driver workforce by 39.1% since August 2021, recently adding a new class of eight drivers with a new training class underway. As MeVa Human Resources Director Jaymi Swarbrick explains, “our secret sauce has been establishing MeVa as an inclusive environment, where management listens to and takes input from our frontline employees. As a result, people want to work here and we have the staff to operate the buses later in the evening and on Sundays.”

About MeVa Transit: MeVa Transit is the regional transportation agency serving the 16 communities along the Merrimack River from Andover to the seacoast. MeVa Transit runs fixed route buses and paratransit vans (mini MeVa) with service hubs in Lawrence, Haverhill, and Amesbury. In March of 2022, the MeVa board voted to go fare-free systemwide in a move to encourage ridership and alleviate some of the financial burden shouldered by residents in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to free fares, MeVa rebranded all their vans and buses, doubled service on Lawrence-based routes, extended service into Groveland, and optimized routing to improve efficiency. Since going fare free, fixed route bus ridership through November 2023 has more than tripled and has now exceeds pre-pandemic levels by 53.8%. On the paratransit side, November 2023 ridership has increased 186.4% and now exceeds pre-pandemic levels by 19.0%.

HAVERHILL – Life doesn’t end at 7pm, and thanks to a boost in state funding from the Massachusetts Legislature and Governor Healey, MeVa’s buses won’t either. Starting on September 5, MeVa’s six highest ridership routes will be running two hours later into the evening.

MeVa bus rider and Elevated Thought Development Strategist Sara Morin was effusive about the later service: “I’m really excited about later night buses,” she said, noting that “it’s a great option not just for me, but for students taking classes at Northern Essex, workers getting off their shifts at the plazas, and anyone who needs a safe way to get home.”

Lawrence Mayor Brian A. DePeña is a big fan of the extended service, stating: “Giving good quality services to our residents, especially in terms of transportation with extended service until 9:00 pm, is a sign that we are taking our city on the right path. Thank you MeVa for thinking about our City of Lawrence.”

The routes that will be running later are the #1, which connects Lawrence with Haverhill via the Loop, the #2, which connects Lawrence with Andover via South Broadway, the #9, which connects Lawrence with North Andover via Phillips Street, the #10, which connects Lawrence with Methuen via Broadway, the #13, which connects Haverhill with Plaistow NH via Main Street and North Avenue, and the #24, which connects Lawrence with Lowell via Route 110. Buses will depart from MeVa’s Transportation Centers at Buckley and Washington Square at 8 and 9pm, returning by 10pm.

MeVa Transit is one of 15 Regional Transit Authorities or RTAs across Massachusetts, which together serve the majority of communities in the state. For the past six years RTAs had been level funded in the state budget, which had prevented MeVa and other transit authorities from expanding service to meet the needs of the communities they service. That changed on August 9, when Governor Healey signed the $55.98 billion 2024 state budget, including an $56 million increase in funding for RTAs. With the added dollars, Massachusetts RTAs finally have the resources to deliver a baseline of service that brings transit equity to areas outside Boston and Route 128.

MeVa Chief Communications Officer Niorka Mendez noted that “for a long time riders and community groups have been asking us for later evening service and we’ve been listening. We are thrilled to be able to put this new funding to work to provide the service our community needs and deserves.”

MeVa did not waste any time putting these new dollars to work for the region. Thanks to a lot of hard work and creativity by MeVa’s human resources team, the agency has been able to buck a national trend and successfully recruit and retain a full staff of professional drivers. As a result, MeVa was able to immediately utilize these new dollars to extend service in an unprecedented four weeks.

While the extended hours are a great first step, MeVa readily acknowledges that there is still more work to be done to ensure riders have access to high quality public transportation. In addition to later service hours, riders have also been asking for Sunday service, which MeVa anticipates being able to begin in January, 2024

About MeVa Transit:

MeVa Transit is the regional transportation agency for 16 communities along the Merrimack River from Andover to the seacoast. MeVa Transit runs fixed service buses and paratransit vans (mini MeVa) with service hubs in Lawrence, Haverhill, and Amesbury. In March of 2022, the MeVa board voted to go fare-free systemwide in a move to encourage ridership and alleviate some of the financial burden shouldered by residents in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to free-fares, MeVa rebranded all their vans and buses, doubled service on Lawrence-based routes, extended service into Groveland, and optimized routing to improve efficiency. Since going fare free, fixed route bus ridership through March 2023 has increased 226.1% and has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 4.5 percentage points. On the paratransit side, March 2023 ridership has increased 175.3% and has now exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 9.7 percentage points. For routes, schedules, and more information about MeVa Transit bus services, visit www.mevatransit.com.

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Lawrence, MA.  A fresh splash of color has hit the Merrimack Valley and, perhaps surprisingly, the source is the local transit authority. The first hints of the rebranding of the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) as MeVa-Merrimack Valley Transit are the bright new buses, bedazzled in coral, aqua and yellow that can now be spotted along local roadways. MVRTA will officially unveil its new look buses, logo and name at a ribbon cutting event on Thursday, October 20 at the Buckley Transportation Center in Lawrence.

The impetus for the rebranding started over a year ago, when then-newly-appointed MVRTA Administrator Noah Berger and Communications Director Niorka Méndez-Almonte started going to community groups to access where the service was doing well and where it was falling short. Through their conversations, it quickly became clear that MVRTA was invisible to many of their potential riders. As Berger notes, “people who could use our service either didn’t know we were here or thought of us as irrelevant. For many reasons, our vehicles blended into the woodwork—of course it doesn’t help that we have the same color scheme as a mail truck!”

With a goal of increasing visibility and ridership, MVRTA put together a diverse focus group and began asking what the community wanted their buses to look like. Participants originally hailing from the Caribbean and Latin America shared that they were used to colorful, dynamic buses that do a much better job of getting people’s attention. Working with Studio Six Branding, which had been successful rebranding other transit authorities such as the Hop in Boulder Colorado, the focus group, along with additional stakeholders including drivers and riders, settled on a new design and name in May that better reflects the cultural and linguistic richness of the area, with special homage to what makes the Merrimack Valley unique and special. The colors are inspired by housing in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, while subtle ripples and water droplets honor the Merrimack River and abstracted clockfaces mirror the clocks adorning many of the area’s historic mill buildings.

The new name, MeVa, short for Merrimack Valley, was seen as hipper and easier to say than MVRTA. With the tag line “Let’s go/íVamos!” prominently displayed on the buses, the system is especially welcoming to its many Spanish-speaking riders. Méndez-Almonte proudly observed that: “Being Latina, born and raised in the Dominican Republic, I feel connected to the new brand, the cheery and happy colors perfectly reflect the Hispanic culture. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way.”

The new look is much more than mere cosmetics and supports a dramatic campaign to improve service, including going fare free systemwide back in March, doubling frequencies in Lawrence beginning last month, optimizing routings and adding bus stops. Through September, ridership is up 97.9% since going fare free and growing. Nine of the newly wrapped buses have been plying the streets of the Merrimack Valley since last week and the area has taken notice, as evidenced by posts of sightings on social media as if the new buses were exotic birds. After the initial launch, the authority will continue to work on wrapping the rest of the fleet. MVRTA was established back in 1974 and has had the same look ever since. It is time for a fresh look that reflects and supports a new, responsive and welcoming twenty-first century transit service.