Lowell Regional Transit Authority

The Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to the Greater Lowell area. This primarily includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Billerica, Burlington, Dracut, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford and Wilmington. The LRTA provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services within this area, although some fixed lines do extend beyond these towns.[1][2]

Lowell Regional Transit Authority
An LRTA bus at the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center in December 2018
Founded1974
Headquarters145 Thorndike St.
LocaleLowell, MA
Service areaGreater Lowell
Service typeBus service, paratransit
Routes20
DestinationsLowell, Chelmsford, Billerica, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Burlington, Dracut, Tyngsborough, Westford, Littleton
FleetGillig, Cutaway Vans
Fuel typeDiesel, hybrid
OperatorFirst Transit
Websitelrta.com

The LRTA was created in September 1974 under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws, the law that impacts all transit authorities in the state of Massachusetts. Since 2004, operation of the LRTA has been subcontracted to First Transit, a subsidiary of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup.[1][3]

The area served by the LRTA is within the commuter rail service area of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). At the Gallagher Transit Terminal in Lowell, LRTA buses provide connection to each other, to trains on MBTA's Lowell Line, and to various intercity bus routes.[1][3]

Routes

All of the routes serve Monday through Friday and most provide Saturday service. All routes originate at the LRTA Gallagher Terminal in Lowell.

Route Outbound terminal Major streets of operation History and notes
1[4]
Christian Hill		 Dracut
Village Square Plaza		 Beacon Street (NB), Humphrey St (SB)
  • Weekend Service consolidated with Route 8
  • Village Square Plaza service served by Route 10 on Saturdays
2[5]
Belvidere		 Belvidere
River Road and Trull Lane		 Roger Street, Douglas Road, Andover Street
3[6]
South Lowell		 North Billerica (MBTA station) Lawrence Street, Woburn Street
4[7]
Highland Via Stevens		 Ayres City
V.A Clinic		 Stevens Street
  • Formerly "7-Shaw/Stevens"
5[8]
Westford Street/Drum Hill		 Chelmsford
Drum Hill Shopping Center		 Westford Street, Drum Hill Road
  • Drum Hill Shopping Center also served by the 16
6[9]
Broadway/UMass Lowell		 University of Massachusetts Lowell
South Campus (Riverview Bus Loop)		 Thorndike Street, Broadway Street
  • Formerly "10-Broadway via U-Lowell South"
  • Lord Manor Served by inbound buses only
7[10]
Pawtucketville/UMass Lowell North		 Tyngsborough
Greater Lowell Regional Vocational Technical School		 Merrimack Street, University Avenue, Vamum Avenue
  • Formerly "11-Pawtucketville via U-Lowell North"
8[11]
Centralville		 Dracut
Hannaford Shop & Save		 Dutton Street, West Sixth Street
  • Formerly "12-Centralville"
9[12]
Lowell Circulator		 University of Massachusetts Lowell
Fox Hall		 Inbound: Fletcher Street, Merrimack Street, Market Street
Outbound: Appleton Street, East Merrimack Street, Father Morissette Boulevard
  • Runs in a loop form, serving the most northern sectors first, then the sectors in Central Lowell
10[13]
Dracut/Tyngsborough		 Tyngsborough
Dracut Road & Massachusetts-New Hampshire State Line		 Bridge Street, Lakeview Avenue
  • Formerly "17-Dracut/Tyngsboro"
  • Serves Village Square Plaza on Saturdays
11[14]
IRS/Raytheon		 Andover
Raytheon Company		 Andover Street, Lowell Street (Route 133)
  • Formerly "20-Route 133/IRS"
  • Operates during rush hours; no midday or weekend service
12[15]
Tewksbury		 Wilmington (MBTA station) Roger Street, Livingston Street, Main Street
  • Formerly "18-Tewksbury"
13[16]
Billerica via Edson		 Burlington
Cambridge Street & Chestnut Street		 Gorham Street, Boston Road, Cambridge Street
  • Connections available to MBTA bus 350 and 352 in Burlington
14[17]
Burlington/Lahey		 Lahey Clinic Gorham Street, Boston Road, Middlesex Turnpike
  • Formerly "19-Burlington/Lahey Clinic"
  • Serves Burlington Mall
15[18]
Chelmsford/Westford		 Littleton
IBM		 Gorham Street, Billerica Street, Littleton Road (Route 110)
  • Formerly "16-Route 129/110-via BrickKlim Road
16[19]
Chelmsford		 Chelmsford
Drum Hill Shopping Center		 Chelmsford Street, Smith Street
  • Formerly "6- Chelmsford" and operated to Ayres City
  • Drum Hill Shopping Center also served by the 5
17[20]
North Chelmsford		 North Chelmsford
Main Street & Groton Road		 Middlesex Street, North Road (Outbound), Tyngsborough Road (Inbound)
  • Formerly "9-Middlesex Street" and "15- North Chelmsford"
  • Chelmsford Senior Center served by inbound buses only
18[21]
Downtown Shuttle		 Lowell Inbound: Merrimack Street, Market Street, Middlesex Street
Outbound: Dutton Street, French Street
  • Operates as a loop route
  • Route number not displayed on bus headboards or stop signs
19[22]
Pheasant Lane		 Nashua
Pheasant Lane Mall		 Middlesex Street, Tyngsborough Road
  • Runs during holiday season (between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day)
  • Year-round service east of North Chelmsford available on route 17
20[23]
Downtown/UMass North		 University of Massachusetts Lowell
North Campus		 Merrimack Street
  • Starts at UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center, not at the bus terminal
  • Monday through Friday only, 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. only
  • Almost exclusively used by UMass Lowell students and staff, who ride free
  • Supplementary to UMass Lowell's Yellow Line North shuttle services

Fleet

The LRTA owns a fleet of 108 revenue-producing vehicles, which includes 57 Gillig Low Floor buses for scheduled route service and 49 Ford Transit and 2 Ford E450 minibuses for paratransit service.[24]

  • An LRTA route 12 bus in Wilmington
  • LRTA route 14 bus at Burlington Mall
  • LRTA route 3 bus at North Billerica station in 2015
  • Three LRTA buses stopped at the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Terminal
  • An LRTA trolley-replica bus on route 9

References
  1. "Lowell Regional Transit Authority (Fixed Route)". First Transit. Archived from the original on November 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  2. "LRTA Paratransit Services". Lowell Regional Transit Authority. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  3. "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Regional Transit Authorities Coordination and Efficiencies Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  4. http://lrta.com/schedules/route1/
  5. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-2/
  6. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-3-south-lowell/
  7. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-4-highlands-via-stevens/
  8. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-5-westford-streetdrum-hill/
  9. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-6-broadwayumass-lowell/
  10. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-7-pawtucketvilleumass-lowell-north/
  11. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-8-centralville/
  12. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-9-downtown-circulator/
  13. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-10-dracuttyngsboro/
  14. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-11-irsraytheon-via-rte-133/
  15. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-12-tewksbury-via-rte-38wilmington-train-station/
  16. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-13-billerica-via-edson/
  17. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-14-burlington-malllahey-clinic/
  18. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-15-chelmsfordwestford-via-rte-129110/
  19. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-16-chelmsford-via-chelmsford-street/
  20. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-17-north-chelmsford-via-middlesex-street/
  21. http://lrta.com/schedules/route-18-downtown-shuttle/
  22. http://lrta.com/route-19-pheasant-lane-mall-via-middlesex-street/
  23. http://lrta.com/route-20-downtownumass-north/
  24. "Overview of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority". Mass.Gov. Office of the State Auditor. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
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