Lowell Regional Transit Authority
# 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.

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.

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.

## 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 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 Belvidere | Belvidere River Road and Trull Lane | Roger Street, Douglas Road, Andover Street | |
| 3 South Lowell | North Billerica (MBTA station) | Lawrence Street, Woburn Street | |
| 4 Highland Via Stevens | Ayres City V.A Clinic | Stevens Street | Formerly "7-Shaw/Stevens" |
| 5 Westford Street/Drum Hill | Chelmsford Drum Hill Shopping Center | Westford Street, Drum Hill Road | Drum Hill Shopping Center also served by the 16 |
| 6 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 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 Centralville | Dracut Hannaford Shop & Save | Dutton Street, West Sixth Street | Formerly "12-Centralville" |
| 9 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 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 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 Tewksbury | Wilmington (MBTA station) | Roger Street, Livingston Street, Main Street | Formerly "18-Tewksbury" |
| 13 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 Burlington/Lahey | Lahey Clinic | Gorham Street, Boston Road, Middlesex Turnpike | Formerly "19-Burlington/Lahey Clinic" Serves Burlington Mall |
| 15 Chelmsford/Westford | Littleton IBM | Gorham Street, Billerica Street, Littleton Road (Route 110) | Formerly "16-Route 129/110-via BrickKlim Road |
| 16 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 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 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 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 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.

## Gallery

* 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
* An LRTA minibus in Maynard, Massachusetts
