Thanks to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Peter Pan Bus Company, we now have a superb public transit system along the Mohawk Trail. There are two round trips daily between Springfield and Albany that allow folks in the Connecticut River Valley, as well as along the Trail, to enjoy from one to 6 hours in Albany, Troy, Williamstown, North Adams, Charlemont or Shelburne Falls. And, of course, it works the other way around, so folks west of Hoosac Mountain can spend happy hours (literally, if wine, hard cider or craft-beer tasting is your thing) in the Deerfield or Connecticut River valleys.
With your bicycle, if you wish, based upon several riders that I observed on my delightful trip from Shelburne Falls to Albany and return on July 27.
You can purchase your tickets online, but there is a $2 fee each way. Better to just pay the driver cash. Shelburne Falls to Albany was $9. Greenfield to Williamstown is $6. The service is subsidized by MassDOT, but that subsidy is just a fraction of the subsidy that our governments provide on my personal motor vehicle. And that’s why we tend to use the least efficient, least health-promoting, and most dangerous forms of transportation.
Problem: few people seem to know about this “secret service.” Where’s the advertising? I fear MassDOT will pull the plug and state that no one was riding. Flyers are available at the Olver Transit Center in Greenfield, but that is it. Hopefully, one of your reporters will find out why there is no advertising for this wonderful service.
Alden H. Dreyer
Shelburne