Connecticut Transit

Connecticut Transit

CTtransit New Flyer Xcelsior 1610 and New Flyer D40LF 238 in downtown Hartford on the 38 Weston Street line and 54 Blue Hills Avenue line. 1610 is one of 125 scheduled buses to be delivered in 2017 to replace all 2001 and 2002 New Flyer D40LF.
Parent	Connecticut Department of Transportation
Founded	1976
Headquarters	Hartford, Connecticut
Locale	Connecticut
Service area	Metropolitan areas of Stamford, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, Meriden, New Britain, Bristol, and Wallingford
Service type	Local bus service
Routes	Buses operate 7 days a week in most divisions, with the exception of a few holidays in some. See CTtransit for the latest information concerning holiday schedules.
Operator	See articles for each division
Chief executive	David A. Lee (HNS General Manager)
Website	Official Website

Connecticut Transit (styled CTtransit) is a bus system serving much of the U.S. state of Connecticut and is a division of that state's Department of Transportation. CTtransit provides bus service via contract providers for seven different metropolitan areas in the state, mostly concentrated in Hartford and New Haven counties. CTtransit began operations in 1976.

HNS Management, Inc., is the principal operator of CTtransit service in the greater Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford areas. They are the second largest public transit system in New England with a total fleet of over 400 buses an over 27 million customers served each year. HNS employs nearly 980 bus operators, maintenance employees, and administrative personnel; the company administers an annual operating budget of over $100 million. CTtransit is owned by, and management reports to staff of, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, Bureau of Public Transportation.

Public transportation in Connecticut dates back to the 19th Century, with the introduction of horse-drawn trolley lines in many towns across the state. In 1901, the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company was formed to operate and extend electric powered trolley services. These operations were leased to the Consolidated Railway Company in 1906 and, a year later, merged with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

In 1910, the New Haven Railroad formally sublet all of its street railway operations to the Connecticut Company, and service continued to expand throughout the next two decades. By 1924, the Connecticut Company operated some 1,640-passenger cars over a network of 834 miles of trolley track.

Both the New Haven Railroad and Connecticut Company suffered financial setbacks during the Depression years. In 1936, the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company (CR&L) returned to the transit business, having petitioned the Federal courts for restoration of its original transit property when Connecticut Company was not able to maintain lease payments. CR&L operated bus motor coaches on all of its lines. Although the manufacture of transit buses was virtually halted during World War II, new production after the war allowed the Connecticut Company to complete the replacement of all its former trolley lines in 1948.