Housatonic Area Regional Transit
Encyclopedia
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 municipalities. 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 1967 when the privately-owned ABC Bus Company which had replaced the Candlewood Bus Company a few months before, ceased operations. The first local bus transit operator in the area, Danbury Power & Transportation Company, operated bus services in Danbury and Bethel from 1926 to 1965. HART provides service to a greater number of towns than its predecessors.
In 2009, HART was recognized as the Urban Community Transportation System of the Year by the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA).
The municipalities served by HART are as follows:
, having purchased the Orion I (and its US predecessor, the TMC
CityCruiser), Orion II and the Orion V, plus one example of the Orion VII low-floor bus. Currently, HART operates Orion, Gillig
and a few older NovaBus RTS
buses on fixed route service. El Dorado Aerotech and Startrans "Senator" body-on-chassis buses are used on LOOP and Shuttle routes and in SweetHART service. The Route 7 Link is served by a mixture of New Flyer buses leased to HART from ConnDOT, Orion V vehicles and Gillig low-floor buses owned by the Norwalk Transit District
.
HART placed ten Gillig low floor buses in service, replacing its 1995 RTS fleet.
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
and surrounding communities. HART was founded in 1972 as the Danbury-Bethel Transit District by the two municipalities. 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
Connecticut Department of Transportation
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The current Commissioner of ConnDOT is Jeffrey Parker...
, Federal Transit Administration and (on a limited basis) the New York State Department of Transportation
New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S...
. Prior to HART's establishment, Danbury had gone without transit service since 1967 when the privately-owned ABC Bus Company which had replaced the Candlewood Bus Company a few months before, ceased operations. The first local bus transit operator in the area, Danbury Power & Transportation Company, operated bus services in Danbury and Bethel from 1926 to 1965. HART provides service to a greater number of towns than its predecessors.
In 2009, HART was recognized as the Urban Community Transportation System of the Year by the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA).
The municipalities served by HART are as follows:
- Connecticut: Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Bethel, Redding, Roxbury, New Fairfield, and Ridgefield. Norwalk and Wilton also see limited HART service but are served primarily by the Norwalk Transit DistrictNorwalk Transit DistrictThe Norwalk Transit District is the primary provider of public transportation services in Norwalk, Connecticut and surrounding communities. The district's fixed-route bus transit system, known as WHEELS, is the primary service of the system linking Norwalk and its immediate suburbs as well as...
(aka "WHEELS"). - New York: Brewster, Katonah, Lewisboro and Southeast. Brewster and Southeast are also served by PARTPutnam Area Rapid TransitPutnam Transit is the provider of bus transit in Putnam County, New York. An agency of the Putnam County government, Putnam Transit came into service in the mid-1970s as a startup system in the wake of growing suburbanization of Putnam County and rising gas prices.Vehicles and routes are owned by...
, while Katonah is primarily served by the Bee-Line Bus SystemBee-Line Bus SystemThe Bee-Line Bus System, branded on the buses in lowercase as the bee-line system, is a bus system serving Westchester County, New York. The system is owned by the County's Department of Public Works and Transportation and operated, on contract , by Yonkers-based Liberty Lines Transit, Inc...
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-NorthDanbury (Metro-North station)The Danbury Metro-North Railroad station serves residents of Danbury, Connecticut and surrounding areas at the north terminus of the Danbury Branch of the New Haven Line...
station and adjacent to the Peter PanPeter Pan Bus LinesPeter Pan Bus Lines is a long-distance bus carrier headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. It operates in the northeastern United States. Over four million passengers per year travel on Peter Pan's bus routes....
bus station.- 1 Hospital/Town Park
- 2 Stony Hill Rd/Newtown Rd
- 3 Mill Plain/Brewster
- 4 Brookfield
- 5 Bethel Center
- 6 Danbury Fair Mall/Lake Ave
- 7 New Milford
- The Route 7U.S. Route 7U.S. Route 7 is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Highgate, Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut...
Link, operated with WHEELS, is a weekday-only commuter line which connects Danbury to Norwalk and surrounding communities.
- The Route 7
- SweetHART: HART operates ADA paratransit service for the disabled which parallels the hours and service area of the fixed route system. 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 Ridgefield and Roxbury. Dial-a-ride hours and policies vary by municipality.
- Bus to Rail Service: Peak hour shuttles which connect Danbury to the BrewsterBrewster (Metro-North station)The Brewster Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of Brewster, New York via the Harlem Line. It is the southernmost station in Putnam County. Trains leave for New York City every hour, and about every 25 minutes during rush hour...
station on the Harlem Line and Ridgefield to KatonahKatonah (Metro-North station)The Katonah Metro-North Railroad station serves the residents of the Westchester County village of Katonah, New York, via the Harlem Line. It is 41.2 miles from Grand Central Terminal and the average travel time to Grand Central is one hour, six minutes.This station is located in the Zone 6...
, also on the Harlem Line. A third shuttle, connecting New Fairfield to SoutheastSoutheast (Metro-North station)Southeast is a Metro-North Railroad station serving the residents of Southeast, New York via the Harlem Line. Trains leave for New York City every hour, and about every 30 minutes during rush hour. It is the terminus of the Harlem Line electrified service. For travel farther north to Wassaic,...
, recently began operations.- Danbury-Brewster
- Ridgefield-Katonah
- New Fairfield-Southeast
- 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.
- Mall-Hospital LOOP
- Newtown Road-South Street LOOP
- New Milford LOOP
- CityCenter DanburyCityCenter DanburyCityCenter Danbury is a redevelopment project located in the downtown core of Danbury, Connecticut. The special taxing district was formed by Main Street's merchants in the late 1980's with the goal of bringing more people and businesses into the Danbury city center, and to revitalize the downtown...
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.
Fleet
HART has had a long history with Orion Bus IndustriesOrion Bus Industries
Orion International, previously Orion Bus Industries and Ontario Bus Industries in Canada and Bus Industries of America in the United States, is a bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and established by the Government of Ontario in 1975...
, having purchased the Orion I (and its US predecessor, the TMC
Transportation Manufacturing Corporation
Transportation Manufacturing Corporation was a bus manufacturer based in Roswell, New Mexico.The company was formed in 1974 by Greyhound Bus Lines to manufacture Motor Coach Industries vehicles...
CityCruiser), Orion II and the Orion V, plus one example of the Orion VII low-floor bus. Currently, HART operates Orion, Gillig
Gillig
Gillig Corporation, formerly Gillig Bros., is a manufacturer of heavy-duty low-floor transit buses located in Hayward, California. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses.-History:...
and a few older NovaBus RTS
Rapid Transit Series
The Rapid Transit Series bus is a long-running series of transit buses originally manufactured by General Motors and is currently produced by Millennium Transit Services as the RTS Legend. Millennium had produced the buses from 2006 until it shut down production in 2009, only to be bought back...
buses on fixed route service. El Dorado Aerotech and Startrans "Senator" body-on-chassis buses are used on LOOP and Shuttle routes and in SweetHART service. The Route 7 Link is served by a mixture of New Flyer buses leased to HART from ConnDOT, Orion V vehicles and Gillig low-floor buses owned by the Norwalk Transit District
Norwalk Transit District
The Norwalk Transit District is the primary provider of public transportation services in Norwalk, Connecticut and surrounding communities. The district's fixed-route bus transit system, known as WHEELS, is the primary service of the system linking Norwalk and its immediate suburbs as well as...
.
HART placed ten Gillig low floor buses in service, replacing its 1995 RTS fleet.