This story has been adapted from a MeVa press release
MeVa, the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority, is putting new state funding to work by adding new Sunday bus service to its schedule as of January 7, 2024.
The agency will operate Sunday bus service on 7 routes, picked based on existing Saturday ridership. The new service will span a region that extends from downtown Lowell to the Atlantic Ocean:
- Route 1, which connects Lawrence with Haverhill via the Loop, the #2, which connects Lawrence with Andover via South Broadway
- Route 8, which connects Lawrence with North Andover via Parker Street/South Union Street and Colonial Heights
- Route 10, which connects Lawrence with Methuen via Broadway
- Route 13, which connects Haverhill with Plaistow, NH via Main Street and North Avenue
- Route 17, which connects Haverhill with Merrimac, Amesbury, and Salisbury Beach
- Route 24, which connects Lawrence with Lowell via MA-110
Buses on these routes will depart hourly from MeVa’s Transportation Centers at Buckley and Washington Square starting at 9 am, with the last bus departing at 5 pm.
Additionally, MeVa will also be extending Saturday service on Route 1 until 7 pm, with 30-minute frequencies all day long.
Route 14 will also extend from its current terminus in Ward Hill to Osgood Landing and the new Amazon distribution facility, and Route 3 will start serving the Andover/North Andover YMCA via MA-133.
MeVa Transit is one of 15 Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) across Massachusetts, which together serve the majority of communities in the state.
The added Sunday service along with the later evening service introduced this past September were made possible by a $56 million increase in funding for RTAs statewide that was included in the 2024 state budget.