By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — Three private bus companies will receive $7.5 million in funds to resume service next month after Gov. Chris Sununu approved the money the companies say they need to resume service, mainly between New Hampshire and Boston.
Last week Sununu asked the eight-member Legislative Advisory Board to the Governor’s Office for Relief and Recovery to vote on the recommendation presented by Department of Transportation Commissioner Victoria Sheehan Wednesday for the three bus companies.
The money would be used to restart bus service suspended at the end of March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am writing to inform (you) that the Governor has approved the recommended funding,” wrote Gerry Little, director of GOFERR to advisory committee members. “GOFERR will work with DOT to provide the grants so that bus service will resume as quickly as possible.”
Concord Coach and Dartmouth Coach will resume bus service between New Hampshire and Boston Aug. 16, while C & J Bus Service will resume service between New Hampshire and Boston Aug. 23.
Under the plan developed with Sheehan’s office, C&J Bus Service in Portsmouth would receive $3.5 million, Concord Coach Lines would receive $2 million and Dartmouth Coach in Lebanon would receive $2 million.
Private providers of intercity bus service were not covered under the Federal Transit Administration CARES Act funding although Boston Express, which is a state service run by Concord Coach, is eligible under the act as are other public transit systems like those on the Seacoast and in Manchester and Concord.
The state received $39 million in FTA CARES Act money, Sheehan said, and her agency is reserving about $10 million for the Boston Express service which is tied to the reconstruction of Interstate 93 between Manchester and the Massachusetts border.
The three private companies carry 1.5 million passengers annually between New Hampshire and Boston, for work, medical services and recreational travel, she told the advisory committee last week.
“They are a critical component of our transportation system in New Hampshire,” she said.
The three private companies receive little subsidies unlike public systems and operate on revenue from passenger tickets, she said, noting Concord Coach receives some state subsidies for providing service to rural areas.
State officials have said demand is growing for bus service to Boston as the economy reopens here and in Massachusetts.
However, the ridership is expected to be substantially less than it was before the pandemic hit the state in March.
Sheehan told the advisory committee bus service should resume as soon as possible so people will continue to take the bus and not their private vehicles.
“We want then to be there when we get on the other side of this,” Sheehan said, “so commuters can rely on them every day.”
Sheehan said the buses will have to be modified for social distancing which will reduce the number of riders, which will mean the companies will continue to lose money into next year.
The bus companies have indicated they will need a significant amount of time to ramp up to be ready to resume service.
The committee voted 8-0 to recommend the $7.5 million in CARES Act money for the bus companies.
When the advisory committee recommended the money for the private bus companies, it decided to delay action on requests from the Fisher Cats baseball team and Mascoma Community Health Center and defeated a motion to encourage Sununu to mandate mask usage and provide $500,000 for masks for any person who needs one.
The state received $1.25 billion in federal CARES Act money. To date only about $250 million remains to be allocated.
Money not spent by December must be returned to the federal government.
Negotiations are ongoing in Washington on another coronavirus relief and recovery package, but the Republican controlled U.S. Senate and Democratically controlled U.S. House have yet to reach a compromise.
Without an agreement, the federal $600 weekly unemployment stipend ended last month.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.
