Connecticut Department of Transportation

 
 

 

Office of Transit and Ridesharing

CTDOT owns the local bus systems in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, New Britain, Bristol, Meriden and Wallingford, and operates them under the CTtransit brand name.  CTDOT has a contract with First Transit to operate the services in Stamford, New Haven and Hartford and with other private providers for services in New Britain, Bristol, Waterbury, Meriden and Wallingford.  In all eight of these service areas the state is fully responsible for all operating deficits and capital costs.  Additionally, CTDOT contracts with CTtransit (First Transit) and four private companies for the operation of express bus services to Hartford. CTtransit-branded services carry about 80% of the annual statewide bus ridership.

The state owns all the rolling stock that provides CTtransit services, as well as bus storage and maintenance facilities in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford and Waterbury CTtransit divisions. The operators of the New Britain and Bristol Divisions operate out of shared facilities with their private operations. The Office of Transit and Ridesharing oversees bus capital projects throughout the state.

In the other non-CTtransit service areas, local transit districts were created to assume operation of bus services.  The local districts provide these bus transit services under the direction of local Boards of Directors representing the member towns.  The Department enters into transit operating assistance contracts with the districts to cover operating deficits up to a predetermined budget amount.  Some municipalities do provide some financial support to these transit districts but the state supports about 90% of the deficit funding in the urban systems, and the state and federal government provide 83% of the deficit funding in the rural systems.  

The state contracts directly for federally-mandated complementary ADA paratransit services in the CTtransit service areas, and significantly subsidizes the transit district ADA operations in the non-CTtransit service areas.

The Bureau provides a range of transportation demand management services, including vanpooling, carpooling, and telecommuting assistance, under the name CTrides. Commuter services are provided through a contractor who performs corporate and customer outreach.

The Bureau also regulates the taxi, livery (limousine), and motor bus industries and provides the state regulatory function for the privately owned freight rail lines in the state.

Finally, there are a number of smaller programs supported and operated by the Bureau including:

  • Rail freight capital improvement fund
  • Transit Security Planning
  • Municipal Matching Grant program for service to seniors and people with disabilities
  • FTA Section 5310 program to support agencies serving seniors and individuals with disabilities
  • FTA Section 5311 Non-Urbanized Transportation program 
  • Locally Coordinated Public Transit Human Service Agency Transportation Planning (LOCHSTP)