The Connecticut Department of Transportation is planning to expand transit service to northeast Connecticut and that's news students at UConn are happy to hear.
Riders on CTfastrak will be able to travel from Hartford to South Windsor, Vernon, Tolland, Bolton, Coventry and Mansfield.
“That would be great,” Geralda Laguerre, a UConn student from Stamford, said.
“I could go to Hartford, from Hartford to New Haven, New Haven to New York. So it is much more efficient if I want to go somewhere farther away than just in Connecticut," Raaed Rakin, of Storrs, said.
The DOT said the first step is to make improvements to the existing line and they are surveying the public on those improvements, which could include adding Wi-Fi or more shelters.
The second step is to create a rapid transit service using existing streets, park and ride lots and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.
“It would be helpful in case some kids are taking classes at the Hartford campus as well as well as the Storrs campus,” TJ Green, a UConn student, said. “Last semester, one of my friends actually did that and so he would have to rush out of here to get there.”
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Laguerre said the new line sounds easier than her current options to get home to Stamford.
“The train is already an hour, and then the Peter Pan is like an hour also, so it is a lot of time, it is discouraging,” Laguerre said.
Students said having the option to take the bus would also give them a lot more time to study.
"When you have to drive yourself you have to focus on driving. Whereas when you are on the bus, you can do study time,” Green said.
The DOT is soliciting public input. You can take the survey online at www.hartfordtransitstudy.com or on the bus through Thursday.
There are also open houses planned for Wednesday Jan. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Elmwood Community Center on New Britain Avenue in West Hartford, as well as Thursday, Jan. 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Windsor Town Hall on Broad Street in Windsor.
