A VIP birthday celebration for CTfastrak was held on Tuesday, as the busway turns two.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy joined local and state officials to commemorate the state's bus rapid transit system that provides direct service to and from Waterbury, Cheshire, Southington, Bristol, Plainville, New Britain, Newington, West Hartford, Hartford, East Hartford and Manchester.
"I know lots of people who are members of country clubs and other clubs around the greater Hartford area believe that no one actually travels this thing, in large part because they don't travel this thing," said the governor.
"People will say we are subsidizing something. Well, we subsidize every trip you take. We build a road. A few weeks ago we had to take 18-20 inches of snow off that road. That's what transportation is," he added.
Malloy rode on a bus to the ceremony, held at 616 New Park, a mixed-use, 54-unit transit-oriented development project in West Hartford that is being constructed adjacent to the Elmwood Station.
"This transformative development for New Park will bring new energy and activity and most importantly customers to New Park," said mayor of West Hartford, Shari Cantor.
The $20 million structure will have 54 units, including 11 subsidized units for veterans, a project proponents of transit oriented development hope is just the start.
Local
"This is a five, ten, twenty, thirty year pull. And that's not wrong. That's exactly what it is. So I think it is extremely important that we've laid the foundation," said Lyle Wray, the Capitol Region Council of Governments.
The governor said that more than 5 million trips that have been taken on CTfastrak so far.
