Fitchburg revisits plan to extend Routes B and 65 to McKee and create transfer point with Route 75

At the Oct. 1 Transportation & Transit Commission meeting, staff summarized a city proposal to extend Route B from Hatchery Hills to McKee Road, extend Route 65 from City Hall to McKee, and add a Route 75 stop at McKee & Tiverton Pike to form a local transfer point with all-day 60-minute headways within Fitchburg. Ross said the proposal would be limited to Fitchburg municipal service and would not extend service into Madison under the proposal.

Commissioners raised paratransit and operational concerns. Elizabeth asked whether paratransit eligibility would be affected if Fitchburg ran all-day local service while Madison did not; staff replied that Madison’s existing all-day coverage in most areas meant paratransit eligibility should not be materially reduced. Ross identified a practical gating factor: the electric bus charger planned at Terverton Pike. "Once that charger gets built at Terverton Pike, even if it's separately a little bit before BRT is built, the B would come down there to charge," he said, which would make an extension operationally feasible.

Members discussed interim options such as extending Route B or Route 65 ahead of full BRT implementation and asked staff to continue pursuing charger design and funding in coordination with regional partners. No formal council action was requested at the meeting; staff said the change could be part of 2028 contract negotiations if not implemented earlier.