CT: Bulk of New London's door-to-destination bus service to end June 30

Officials said a lack of funding has largely scuttled an on-demand public transportation program that served more than 4,000 city riders each month in the city.

Despite some optimism last month from city officials that the SmartRide system would continue, Mayor Michael Passero said most of the door-to-destination's daytime options will be terminated at the end of this month.

“The money is just not there,” he recently told the City Council. “I had a good conversation with the (state Department of Transportation) last week and believe they are very supportive of finding a way forward. But that’s not going to happen before June 30.”

The SmartRide system was introduced in December 2021 with the help of American Rescue Plan Act funding funneled to the state Department of Transportation. That money has for the last several years helped fund a “microtransit” service run through a partnership between the city and Southeast Area Transit, or SEAT, which oversees fixed-bus routes in several local municipalities, including New London.

“The state has never funded the existing SmartRide service,” DOT spokesman Josh Morgan said in an email. “Funding for the service was provided by the Federal Transit Administration directly to Southeast Area Transit. Moving forward, CTDOT will provide funding for SmartRide in the “after hours” times when the fixed route local bus service is not running, as well as continuing the ADA paratransit services.”

The federal funding, with a $12,000 annual contribution by the city, covered the approximately $7,000-per-month cost of running three 12-seat microbuses. Passero said he could not convince SEAT, which receives about 80% of its funding from the DOT, to increase its funding for SmartRide.

Riders could hail the vehicles using a phone or app for $1.75 per trip. The service ran from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday within the city’s borders and connected to fixed-bus routes that run beyond New London’s limits.

A scaled-back service that eliminates morning and afternoon pick-ups will operate weeknights from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Qualified residents, those with certain disabilities, will still be able to hail a para-transit bus any time.

City resident and frequent SmartRide user Debbie Phillips said the system offered a “convenient public means of transportation for residents without cars or living far from a traditional bus stop.

“I was going to use (SmartRide) to get to the community recreation center,” she said, referring to the new $40 million facility scheduled to open next month on the Fort Trumbull peninsula. “My two other options were to use an Uber for $20 a ride both ways, or one of the blue SEAT buses, which is fine, but the closest bus stop is a half-mile away. Therefore, I will not be buying a (community center) membership."

Passero said there were “no two people more disappointed than Carey Redd and myself,” referring to the city’s parking director.

He said in order to reestablish the system, money would have to be shifted from existing transportation services back into SmartRide, a process he said would require a formal hearing.

"I'm hoping there can be some rearranging of funding where some that's set aside for fixed-route buses can be allocated to SmartRide," Passero said. "But there just wasn't enough time to work through that process that before the end of the month."

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