Essex Junction May Lose Key Bus
- Green Mountain Transit plans to eliminate the #4 Essex Center bus route in August unless additional funding is secured. - Local governments and the school district must find about $112,000 by June 1 to keep the service running. - Losing the route could cut off students, riders with disabilities, and workers who depend on it (essexreporter.com).
Essex Junction could lose its Route 4 bus in August after Green Mountain Transit’s board voted Tuesday to eliminate the line unless local money is found. (essexreporter.com) The transit agency said the city of Essex Junction, the Town of Essex, and the Essex Westford School District have until June 1 to assemble about $112,000 to keep the route running. The vote was 6-2 at the board’s April 21 meeting in Burlington. (essexreporter.com) (ridegmt.com) Route 4 was created in 2025 after Green Mountain Transit dropped the old Route 10 Williston-Essex service. In its spring 2026 service-change notice, the agency said the Essex Center line was drawing roughly 1.2 to 4.2 riders per run and was not expected to meet state performance standards. (ridegmt.com) Green Mountain Transit tied the proposed cut to projected budget shortfalls in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 and to urban ridership that is tracking below fiscal 2025 levels. The agency has already cut about 20% of its Chittenden County service since late 2024, according to VTDigger. (ridegmt.com) (vtdigger.org) The route carries more than low ridership totals suggest because it links Essex schools, jobs, and services that are hard to reach on foot. Green Mountain Transit General Manager Clayton Clark told VTDigger many students use the line, and the school district had offered to help pay for it. (vtdigger.org) Green Mountain Transit’s own public notice said riders who lose Route 4 may have to shift to school transportation, ADA paratransit, or the Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities program. The agency also said it is studying whether some Route 2 Essex Junction trips could be extended to the Essex Experience. (ridegmt.com) The board that approved the cut has 11 commissioners, with one seat each for Essex Town and Essex Junction and monthly public meetings at Green Mountain Transit’s Burlington office. The April 21 agenda listed the Route 4, Route 5, and Route 86 changes as action items. (ridegmt.com 1) (ridegmt.com 2) Green Mountain Transit opened public comment on the Route 4 proposal from March 30 through April 15 and held an Essex Junction meeting on April 9. The next deadline is June 1, when local officials and school leaders will know whether the bus survives past summer. (ridegmt.com 1) (ridegmt.com 2)
