Reported by us | South Coast

SRTA has canceled 158 bus trips in New Bedford and Fall River since Sept. 1, 92 of them from Oct. 26 to 30

October's notices list more than five times as many canceled trips as September's, while federal data show SRTA ridership up 16% through August.

By the SC360 Investigations Desk | Published Oct. 30, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 30, 2026, 9:49 p.m. ET

SOUTH COAST The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority canceled 92 bus trips in New Bedford and Fall River this week, posting a cancellation notice every weekday, and its notices since Sept. 1 now list 158 canceled trips, nearly all of them on weekday afternoons.

Staff shortages are the only reason the notices have given. Each of SRTA's first 16 notices, from Sept. 1 through Tuesday, Oct. 27, opened with the line "Due to staff shortages, several trips will be cancelled today." The notices for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, which list 82 trips between them, name the routes and times without giving a reason in their current versions.

The cancellations have grown through the fall: SRTA's eight notices in September listed 25 trips, and its 11 notices in October list 133, more than five times as many. The two largest came at the end of the month, with 34 trips on Thursday, Oct. 29, and 32 on Friday. The 92 trips canceled this week are more than the authority listed from Sept. 1 through Oct. 25 combined.

The routes

Route 9 Intercity, the bus between New Bedford and Fall River, has lost 30 trips, more than any other route, and appeared on 11 of the 19 notices. In New Bedford, Route 202 Lund's Corner has lost 18 trips and Route 201 Fort Rodman 12, and cuts have also reached Route 211 Fairhaven and Route 210 Dartmouth Mall. In Fall River, Route 103 Laurel Street and Route 104 Robeson Street have lost 14 trips each and Route 108 BCC 10. SRTA listed 95 of the trips under New Bedford and 63 under Fall River.

Only four of the canceled trips were scheduled before noon, two on Route 204 on Sept. 29 and two on Route 105 on Oct. 15. The rest were set to leave between 12:05 and 5:35 p.m.

SRTA posts each day's notice under Service Notices on srtabus.com, usually before noon. Friday's notice listed 20 Fall River trips between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. and 12 New Bedford trips between 1:55 and 5:05 p.m.

Who drives the buses

SRTA "is prohibited, by the provisions of Section 25 of Chapter 161B, from directly operating transit service," the authority wrote in a 2024 bid notice. Its contractor, listed in that notice as "Transdev / South Coast Transit Management, Inc. (SCTM)," provides "management and operational services." SRTA itself had seven full-time employees and one part-time employee, Administrator Erik Rousseau told the authority's Advisory Board on May 21, according to the minutes.

The bus operator opening SRTA has listed on its careers page since Sept. 3 is a job with SCTM, whose application thanks applicants for their "interest in employment with SCTM." The position calls for a commercial driver's license, class A or B, with passenger endorsements and no air brake restriction, and "three years of commercial driving experience." Applicants must be at least 21 and pass a background check and a drug test. Applications are taken weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the garages at 65 Potomska St. in New Bedford and 601 Brayton Ave. in Fall River. SRTA also posted openings on Oct. 26 for a technician, a demand response agent, a ticket agent, a buyer and a junior buyer.

The May 21 minutes record Rousseau telling the board that a labor agreement "settled in the Fall of 2025" covers fiscal 2026 and the next two fiscal years, "so from a labor perspective, the budget should be stable."

The budget

At that meeting the board adopted a $39,233,780 operating budget for fiscal 2027, the year that began July 1. The six members present, representing Fall River, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Somerset and Westport, plus the board's ADA representative, all voted for it. The minutes record that the budget was increasing "by about 10%, but there is funding to support the increase," with some of the increase due to "growing service, higher fuel costs, and higher costs for employee insurance."

The new budget is 10.3% above the $35,563,851 SRTA budgeted for fiscal 2026. That budget put $28,003,153 toward transit operations and counted on $12,751,411 in federal grants, $12,342,139 in state contract assistance and $5,333,255 in assessments on member cities and towns. It counted no fare revenue from fixed route buses, and the board's March 26 minutes list "the continuation of fare free service" among the revenue highlights of the draft fiscal 2027 budget.

The state budget line that sends Commonwealth Transportation Fund money to the regional transit authorities is $217.45 million this fiscal year, up from $209 million last year. It sets aside at least $40 million to keep the authorities fare free year round and at least $66 million for "operational enhancements and improvements," which it says may include expanded service hours, weekend service and route expansions. Other operating money in the line is divided by formula, 60% by ridership, 30% by the population of member communities and 10% by the size of the area each authority serves.

More riders, fewer bus hours

Riders boarded SRTA's fixed route buses about 2.96 million times from January through August 2026, up 16% from the same months of 2025, according to the Federal Transit Administration's National Transit Database. Over the same months, the hours those buses spent in service fell about 5%, or about 3% leaving out a sharply lower February. In August, the latest month in the federal data, the buses carried 358,806 boardings, up from 303,615 a year earlier.

SRTA did not answer questions about the staff shortages this week.

What riders can do

Riders can check each day's cancellations under Service Notices on srtabus.com, follow buses on SRTA's Bustracker at bustime.srtabus.com, or call the authority at 508-999-5211. Written questions for the Advisory Board, sent to info@srtabus.com or 700 Pleasant St., Suite 530, New Bedford, at least one week before a published meeting date are placed on its agenda under public comment, SRTA says.

Earlier: SRTA cancels 34 bus trips in New Bedford and Fall River Thursday afternoon, its most on one notice this month.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority's own website (its 19 service disruption notices since Sept. 1, its careers postings, approved Advisory Board minutes, fiscal 2026 budget and a 2024 bid notice), the state's fiscal 2027 budget and the Federal Transit Administration's National Transit Database, read Oct. 29 and 30. Trip counts are of the one-way trips each notice lists. Ridership and service hours are for fixed route buses.

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 (18)

1. SRTA service notices, September and October 2026All 19 service disruption notices from Sept. 1 to Oct. 30, 2026, with the trips each lists and the staff shortage line on the first 16. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
2. SRTA's public post listing since Sept. 1, 2026Each notice with the date and time it was posted. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
3. SRTA, "Service Disruption Notice for Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026"20 New Bedford and 14 Fall River trips. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
4. SRTA, "Service Disruption Notice for Today, Friday, October 30, 2026"20 Fall River and 12 New Bedford trips. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
5. SRTA Advisory Board minutes, May 21, 2026 (approved)Fiscal 2027 budget of $39,233,780, roll call, the labor agreement and staff count. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
6. SRTA Advisory Board minutes, March 26, 2026 (approved)Draft fiscal 2027 budget, fare free service. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
7. SRTA Operating Budget, fiscal 2026 (approved May 22, 2025)Expenses, revenue and funding sources. Linked from SRTA's Open Government page (https://www.srtabus.com/open-government/). Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
8. SRTA, Request for Proposals SCTM 24-01, April 12, 2024SRTA barred from operating service directly; Transdev / South Coast Transit Management as contractor. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
9. SRTA, "Now Hiring for Operator," with the position description and applicationPosted Sept. 3, 2026. Requirements and where to apply; application for employment with SCTM. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
10. SRTA careers page and Oct. 26, 2026 job postingsOpenings for technician, demand response agent, ticket agent, buyer and junior buyer, posted Oct. 26. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
11. SRTA, "Submit Questions/Topics of Discussion to the Advisory Board"Written questions at least one week before a published meeting date go on the agenda under Public Comment. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
12. Massachusetts FY2027 budget, line 1595-6370, Commonwealth Transportation Fund Transfer to RTAs$217,450,000 in fiscal 2027, $209,000,000 in fiscal 2026, and the provisos. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
13. Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database, "Complete Monthly Ridership (with Adjustments and Estimates)"SRTA (NTD ID 10006), bus: boardings and vehicle revenue hours, January 2025 to August 2026. Read Oct. 29 and 30, 2026.
14. SRTA, New Bedford schedules effective Aug. 30, 2026Route names and numbers. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
15. SRTA, Fall River schedules effective Aug. 30, 2026Route names and numbers. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
16. SRTA, federal award for 18 hybrid busesErik Rousseau as SRTA Administrator. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
17. SRTA contact pageOffice phone 508-999-5211 and address. Read Oct. 30, 2026.
18. SRTA BustrackerReal time bus locations. Read Oct. 26, 2026.

This story on the full site