NORTHAMPTON — After 40 years of partnering with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, representatives from the Five Colleges Inc. say they might have to consider other transportation options.
In the face of PVTA budget cuts that threaten 16 bus routes, the consortium, consisting of Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges as well as the University of Massachusetts, sent a letter expressing frustration with the actions of the transit authority.
The PVTA, meanwhile, said the recently passed state budget allocates it less money than it anticipated, and it now faces a deficit of $1.7 million for the coming year.
“We have a responsibility to have a balanced budget,” newly hired administrator Sandra Sheehan said.
The colleges say they were not consulted over the changes until after public hearings began, long after academic schedules were set. The consortium relies on buses to get students from one campus to another to take classes and participate in community events.
“It’s therefore baffling and discouraging that neither PVTA staff members nor the PVTA Advisory Board consulted with us, their long-term partner, when they began considerations of eliminating some of the Five College bus routes,” stated the July 7 letter, signed by Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash and Neal Abraham, executive director of Five Colleges Inc. Lash is also president of the Five College board of directors.
Among the routes that may be eliminated are the M40, which connects Northampton to UMass, and the 39, which connects Smith, Hampshire and Mount Holyoke. Additionally, the R29, which connects UMass, Hampshire and Mount Holyoke, may have weekend service eliminated, and several UMass campus shuttles may have their service reduced.
Andrew Mangels, vice chancellor for administration and finance at UMass, also sent a letter to the PVTA Wednesday, arguing for the importance of maintaining the bus routes.
The Five Colleges subsidize the routes that connect the campuses by paying the total operating costs of the routes for the academic year. The figure works out to be about $500,000 in total. During the academic year, bus travel is free for college students, faculty and staff, and fares are not collected — although riders not affiliated with the colleges are expected to have purchased a ticket on an “honor system.”
The colleges estimate that they have paid $5.5 million over the last 10 years for the buses, along with at least $100,000 for additional services such as shuttles.
Abraham said Wednesday that some PVTA routes would not be able to run were it not for the colleges’ contributions. But if routes are eliminated, the colleges might start looking into private forms of transportation, he said.
The colleges run a private shuttle between Mount Holyoke and Smith that takes significantly less time than the R29, which is rerouted because of ongoing construction on Route 47.
The colleges have not yet paid for the coming academic year but say their transportation budget is fixed, so they could not increase their contributions to offset the financial strain.
Sheehan said the concerns raised in the colleges’ letter will be presented with the other public comments at the July 19 PVTA advisory board meeting.
“The comments we receive will influence the decisions we make,” she said Tuesday.
But, she said, the PVTA’s deficit makes service cuts a necessity. In a worst-case scenario, all of the 16 routes could be eliminated.