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.[1][2]
![]() | |
![]() An LRTA bus at the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center in December 2018 | |
Founded | 1974 |
---|---|
Headquarters | 145 Thorndike St. |
Locale | Lowell, MA |
Service area | Greater Lowell |
Service type | Bus service, paratransit |
Routes | 20 |
Destinations | Lowell, Chelmsford, Billerica, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Burlington, Dracut, Tyngsborough, Westford, Littleton |
Fleet | Gillig, Cutaway Vans |
Fuel type | Diesel, hybrid |
Operator | First Transit |
Website | lrta.com |
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.[1][3]
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.[1][3]
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[4] Christian Hill |
Dracut Village Square Plaza |
Beacon Street (NB), Humphrey St (SB) |
|
2[5] Belvidere |
Belvidere River Road and Trull Lane |
Roger Street, Douglas Road, Andover Street | |
3[6] South Lowell |
North Billerica (MBTA station) | Lawrence Street, Woburn Street | |
4[7] Highland Via Stevens |
Ayres City V.A Clinic |
Stevens Street |
|
5[8] Westford Street/Drum Hill |
Chelmsford Drum Hill Shopping Center |
Westford Street, Drum Hill Road |
|
6[9] Broadway/UMass Lowell |
University of Massachusetts Lowell South Campus (Riverview Bus Loop) |
Thorndike Street, Broadway Street |
|
7[10] Pawtucketville/UMass Lowell North |
Tyngsborough Greater Lowell Regional Vocational Technical School |
Merrimack Street, University Avenue, Vamum Avenue |
|
8[11] Centralville |
Dracut Hannaford Shop & Save |
Dutton Street, West Sixth Street |
|
9[12] Lowell Circulator |
University of Massachusetts Lowell Fox Hall |
Inbound: Fletcher Street, Merrimack Street, Market Street Outbound: Appleton Street, East Merrimack Street, Father Morissette Boulevard |
|
10[13] Dracut/Tyngsborough |
Tyngsborough Dracut Road & Massachusetts-New Hampshire State Line |
Bridge Street, Lakeview Avenue |
|
11[14] IRS/Raytheon |
Andover Raytheon Company |
Andover Street, Lowell Street (Route 133) |
|
12[15] Tewksbury |
Wilmington (MBTA station) | Roger Street, Livingston Street, Main Street |
|
13[16] Billerica via Edson |
Burlington Cambridge Street & Chestnut Street |
Gorham Street, Boston Road, Cambridge Street |
|
14[17] Burlington/Lahey |
Lahey Clinic | Gorham Street, Boston Road, Middlesex Turnpike |
|
15[18] Chelmsford/Westford |
Littleton IBM |
Gorham Street, Billerica Street, Littleton Road (Route 110) |
|
16[19] Chelmsford |
Chelmsford Drum Hill Shopping Center |
Chelmsford Street, Smith Street |
|
17[20] North Chelmsford |
North Chelmsford Main Street & Groton Road |
Middlesex Street, North Road (Outbound), Tyngsborough Road (Inbound) |
|
18[21] Downtown Shuttle |
Lowell | Inbound: Merrimack Street, Market Street, Middlesex Street Outbound: Dutton Street, French Street |
|
19[22] Pheasant Lane |
Nashua Pheasant Lane Mall |
Middlesex Street, Tyngsborough Road |
|
20[23] Downtown/UMass North |
University of Massachusetts Lowell North Campus |
Merrimack Street |
|
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.[24]
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
References
- "Lowell Regional Transit Authority (Fixed Route)". First Transit. Archived from the original on November 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- "LRTA Paratransit Services". Lowell Regional Transit Authority. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- "Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Regional Transit Authorities Coordination and Efficiencies Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route1/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-2/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-3-south-lowell/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-4-highlands-via-stevens/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-5-westford-streetdrum-hill/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-6-broadwayumass-lowell/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-7-pawtucketvilleumass-lowell-north/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-8-centralville/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-9-downtown-circulator/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-10-dracuttyngsboro/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-11-irsraytheon-via-rte-133/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-12-tewksbury-via-rte-38wilmington-train-station/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-13-billerica-via-edson/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-14-burlington-malllahey-clinic/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-15-chelmsfordwestford-via-rte-129110/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-16-chelmsford-via-chelmsford-street/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-17-north-chelmsford-via-middlesex-street/
- http://lrta.com/schedules/route-18-downtown-shuttle/
- http://lrta.com/route-19-pheasant-lane-mall-via-middlesex-street/
- http://lrta.com/route-20-downtownumass-north/
- "Overview of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority". Mass.Gov. Office of the State Auditor. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lowell Regional Transit Authority. |