The long-awaited CTfastrak bus-only roadway opened to the public on March 28, 2015.

By Ronni Newton, Video by David Chmielewski, DirectLine Media, LLC

CTfastrak began service on March 28, 2015. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

CTfastrak began operations on Saturday, March 28, with new green buses operating on the bus-only roadway as well as on circulator routes.

CTfastrak is offering free rides for all passengers through Sunday, April 5, 2015. During that time, Hello! West Hartford is also running a campaign that encourages the public to “be adventurous” and take advantage of a free CTfastrak ride to visit new places in the area. The organization has also arranged for discounts at a variety of area businesses.

West Hartford has two CTfastrak stations: the Elmwood Station at the corner of New Britain Avenue and New Park Avenue, and the Flatbush Station at the Corner of Flatbush Avenue and New Park.

Prior to the launch of service, a ribbon-cutting was held Friday afternoon in downtown New Britain, and was attended by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as well as federal, state, and local transportation and other elected officials.

“With CTfastrak, Connecticut commuters will have another option to beat traffic as localities see new economic opportunities,” Gov. Malloy said in a prepared statement. “We are improving lives, easing congestion, and delivering growth in municipalities. From Waterbury through Hartford to Manchester, and to its connections to air and rail travel, CTfastrak will provide residents and business professionals with a new way to travel between our cities and towns. As we work to transform Connecticut’s transportation network with Let’s Go CT, today’s opening is a great start toward creating a 21^st Century transportation system.”

“We’re proud of what we’ve built and we’re inviting everyone to try us out. Our goal is to get residents, workers, students and people of all ages to start riding on Connecticut’s new bus rapid transit system. Enjoy the ride,” Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said in a prepared statement.

Hartford Courant reporter Don Stacom chronicled the first day of service on CTfastrak, and spoke to a variety of riders, including several from West Hartford, about their experience.

According to the CTfastrak website, the system provides direct service to and from Waterbury, Cheshire, Southington, Bristol, Plainville, New Britain, Newington, West Hartford, Hartford and Manchester with routes that take advantage of the bus-only CTfastrak roadway.

For more information about CTfastrak, visit www.ctfastrak.com, connect via Facebook at www.facebook.com/CTfastrak or Twitter @ctfastrak. Route timetables are available at www.cttransit.com under the “Schedules/CTfastrak” tab.

Have you ridden CTfastrak? Tell us about your experience in the comments!

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