Bus Service For Madison Residents Expands To Neighboring Towns

MADISON, CT - First Selectman Tom Banisch is sharing news through his blog about expanded bus service for Madison residents.

Here is what Banisch is saying:

“There is good news on the public transportation front for Madison. 9 Town Transit, the local public transportation agency that serves Madison and east is increasing their service.

“You can currently get on the bus in downtown Madison, at the gazebo in the Stop & Shop parking lot or almost anywhere else downtown, and go to Old Saybrook or Essex and anywhere in between.

“Starting a couple of weeks ago, that service was expanded to include a route that goes from downtown Madison to downtown Clinton and then up Route 81 through Killingworth, Durham and into Middletown. The immediate impact of the service is that people who previously had a hard time getting up to Middlesex Hospital for their doctor appointments now have an alternative.

“The longer ranging effect is that we can create opportunities for economic development along the shoreline, as a workforce from Middletown Durham and Killingworth can now access Madison. Prior to this (and currently) there have been buses from New Haven and the Shore Line East train service.

“If you ever look at the buses coming in from New Haven, you’ll notice there’s not a lot of ridership. Hopefully, the opportunity to connect from downtown Madison to New Haven and up to Middletown will increase ridership all along the system. The fact that they offer free transfers onto the other systems is a big plus.9 Town Transit is also adding new buses to their fleet.

“The recognizable van-type fleet of buses will be increased and they will also add several new full-size buses. This major increase in service will help people move along the shoreline and north to Middletown. Coupled with our existing transportation resources to New Haven, we now have the ability to link up travel all around the state and beyond.Please check out the new service.

“There are bus schedules in the kiosk downtown in front of the Post Office as well as the Chamber of Commerce office and town hall. We will be reaching out to local businesses to let them be aware of the service so they can advertise to labor markets that were previously unavailable to them.“