SOUTH COAST The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority canceled six more New Bedford bus trips on Tuesday, Oct. 27, because of staff shortages, its eighth such notice this month and its second in two days. October's notices now list 51 canceled trips, more than twice the 25 the authority listed in all of September.
The notice, posted at 10:36 a.m., listed the 12:30 p.m. outbound and 1:35 p.m. inbound trips on Route 9 Intercity, which links New Bedford and Fall River. It also listed the 2:10 p.m. outbound and 2:34 p.m. inbound trips on the 201 Fort Rodman route and the 2:55 p.m. outbound and 3:22 p.m. inbound trips on the 202 Lund's Corner route.
All six were also among the 20 New Bedford trips SRTA canceled on Friday, Oct. 9, the largest single day of cuts this month.
Eight notices in 27 days
SRTA posted its October notices on Oct. 2, 5, 8, 9, 13, 15, 26 and 27, and each gives staff shortages as the reason. Five covered New Bedford routes and three covered Fall River routes. Route 9 has lost 14 trips this month on four of those days, more than any other route.
The pair of Route 9 trips cut on Tuesday, the 12:30 p.m. departure from New Bedford and the 1:35 p.m. trip back from Fall River, has now been canceled on seven days since mid-August: Aug. 18, Sept. 1, 18 and 23, and Oct. 5, 9 and 27.
Ridership and budget
Route 9 is the only SRTA route that connects the New Bedford and Fall River bus systems, according to the authority's most recent yearly ridership report, for fiscal 2024. That report counted 2,827,789 trips on SRTA's fixed route buses in the year that ended June 30, 2024, a record for the authority.
SRTA's budget for the fiscal year that ended this June 30, the most recent posted on its website, put total expenses at $35.6 million, including $28 million for transit operations. Federal grants were budgeted to cover $12.8 million, state contract assistance $12.3 million and local assessments $5.3 million. A contractor, South Coast Transit Management, runs SRTA's fixed route and demand response service, the authority's careers page says.
Hiring
SRTA's careers page still listed an opening for bus operators on Wednesday morning, first posted Sept. 3, along with openings for a technician, a demand response agent, a ticket agent, a buyer and a junior buyer. Applications are taken Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New Bedford maintenance garage, 65 Potomska St., or the Fall River maintenance garage, 601 Brayton Ave.
What riders can do
SRTA posts each day's cancellations as a service notice on srtabus.com. Riders can follow buses in real time on SRTA's Bustracker, at bustime.srtabus.com or in the SRTA Bustracker app for iPhone and Android, and can call the authority at 508-999-5211 or email info@srtabus.com.
South Coast 360 counted the authority's notices from August through Monday in its first report on the cancellations.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority's own website: its Oct. 27 notice, every notice it posted from Aug. 1 to Oct. 27, its route list, its fiscal 2024 ridership report, its fiscal 2026 budget summary, and its careers, Bus Time and contact pages. We read them on Oct. 26 and Oct. 28. Trip counts are of the trips each notice lists. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard yet: SRTA. We sent the authority questions about its staffing on the evening of Monday, Oct. 26, and will add any answer.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (9)
- SRTA, "Service Disruption Notice for Today, Tuesday, October 27, 2026"The six New Bedford trips and the staff shortage reason. Posted Oct. 27, 2026, 10:36 a.m. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
- SRTA service notices, August to October 2026Every staff shortage notice from Aug. 12 to Oct. 27, 2026, with the trips each one lists. Read Oct. 26 and Oct. 28, 2026.
- SRTA, New Bedford route schedulesRoute numbers and names: 9 Intercity, 201 Fort Rodman, 202 Lund's Corner. Read Oct. 26, 2026.
- SRTA, Year End Fixed Route Ridership Analysis, FY 2024Fiscal 2024 fixed route trips and Route 9 as the one link between the two cities. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
- SRTA, Budget Summary, 2026 Ops Plan, approved May 22, 2025Expenses and funding for fiscal 2026. Linked from the Open Government page, https://www.srtabus.com/open-government/. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
- SRTA careers pageCurrent openings, and South Coast Transit Management as SRTA's contractor for fixed route and demand response service. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
- SRTA, "Now Hiring for Operator"The bus operator opening and where to apply. Posted Sept. 3, 2026. Read Oct. 26, 2026.
- SRTA Bus Time pageThe Bustracker and its apps. Read Oct. 26, 2026.
- SRTA Contact Us pagePhone and email. Read Oct. 26, 2026.