By Kylie Valluzzi, Granite State News Collaborative

In 2010, Ethan Crossman, age 10, moved from Rutland, Vermont, to Barnstead, New Hampshire. As a child, he remembered Rutland to be a walkable city; he walked to school every day with his friends and biked around the neighborhood.

But when he moved to Belknap County, just south of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, it was no longer possible for Ethan to walk to school or the store, or bike to and from friends’ houses; they were just too far apart. Ethan felt isolated. Everything was 30 minutes away, he said.

As he got older, “it was always a struggle to have enough money to have a car running and the cars would break down,” Ethan said. “Most of our conversations would be about coordinating, ‘Oh, how do I get a ride here?’ and ‘How do we figure out how to get there?’ and ‘This car’s in the shop.’”

It’s no secret that rural America is lacking in public transportation systems. But for people like Ethan to build a successful life, and to help deal with transportation emissions that are worsening the climate crisis, accessible transportation options are vital.

That’s why the N.H. Department of Environmental Services' new Priority Climate Action Plan stresses the support and expansion of public transportation options in New Hampshire.

Culturally, Ethan said, driving is a cornerstone of American society. But not everyone can drive or has access to a car. Ethan’s mom and brother, for example, both have disabilities. His brother is unable to drive and his mom drives only out of necessity. 

When he attended the University of New Hampshire in Durham, Ethan said he realized that “life is more pleasant when you don’t have to be scrambling for money, scrambling to try to get a vehicle running, and just not having that feeling of isolation.”

“I just want to live in a society where everyone can participate, rather than those who are able-bodied enough and have enough money to drive,” he said.

Better funding for public transportation would also be a step to reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, transportation is New Hampshire’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. As reported previously by the Collaborative, 45.9% of N.H. greenhouse gases were caused by transportation. About 40% of that was from passenger cars alone.

Public transit in NH, currently 

According to the N.H. Department of Transportation, there are 12 local bus systems in New Hampshire, including intercity service that connects New Hampshire communities to the larger region, and specialized services for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

Yet only 34 of 244 population centers have a regular fixed bus route. Over 40 communities lack any transportation services at all, according to a 2022 report from the N.H. Transit Association.

For long-distance travel, passenger rail service in New Hampshire is provided by the Amtrak Downeaster with stops in Dover, Durham and Exeter, and by the Vermonter, with a stop at Claremont Junction as well as Vermont communities in the Connecticut River Valley. But for getting to work or visiting your mother, rail service is not a solution.

In 2021, New Hampshire ranked 48th among the 50 states for total public transportation funding, including local, state and federal allocations. It was the only New England state that year to allocate no state funds for general public transit operating support.

Since then, the Granite State was allocated $24.3 million through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve public transportation options in fiscal year 2022 and 2023. The state would “expect to receive approximately $126 million over five years” under the law to improve public transit. But that is still a small figure in comparison to the $532.2 million allocated for roads, bridges, roadway safety, and major projects.

On the other side of the river

This year, Vermont allocated $48.8 million to support public transportation, as well as $43 million for rail projects and $27.9 million to continue implementing programs to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector, as reported by trucking news magazine Land Line.

Vermont has 13 local and regional public transportation service agencies, including one regional authority, one transit district, two towns and nine private nonprofit corporations.

Green Mountain Transit of Chittenden County is one of those agencies and provides over 2.5 million trips each year, mostly in the greater Burlington area. In 2020, GMT partnered with the Special Services Transportation Agency to create the O&D Transportation Program, O&D being “Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities.” 

The service operates in addition to Vermont’s other agencies to fill gaps in other services such as fixed-route transit, non-emergency medical transportation or ADA (Americans with Disabilities) transportation. O&D transit relies on volunteer drivers in private vehicles, but also uses various vehicle fleets of ADA-compliant vans, sedans and minivans. The program depends on the involvement of local partners: agencies tasked with providing services to riders and making the local contribution to funding, and transit providers who maintain and operate the vehicles.

GMT has an estimated operations and management budget of $17.8 million for fiscal year 2024, according to the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s Transportation Improvement Plan. Of that, $9.6 million comes from federal grants and $2.3 million from state funding. 

Southeast Vermont Transit operates the MOOver, which serves Windham and southern Windsor counties, both located on the New Hampshire border. MOOver provides free door-to-door transportation for riders age 60 or over and for persons with ADA-defined disabilities.

Why should we invest in public transit?

According to the American Public Transportation Association's Transit Savings Report, people who ride public transit instead of driving can save an average of $13,000 annually, or $1,100 a month.

Additionally, in New Hampshire, a 2021 study by the Rockingham Planning Commission and Strafford Regional Planning Commission found that every $1 invested in the transit services provided by Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) generated about $4.08 of activity in the local economy. 

Expansion of public transit was also a key recommendation in the state’s 2024 Plan on Aging. In 2030, a third of New Hampshire’s population will be 65 or older. A lack of public transit can make it difficult for older people to participate in civic life, see loved ones, get to a doctor’s office, or obtain other services, especially in rural areas. 

There are five urban transit agencies across the state, including Nashua Transit System, which provides service to nine communities within the Greater Nashua and Milford regions, and Manchester Transit Authority, which is the primary transit provider in nearly a dozen communities ranging in size from New Boston to Manchester. 

Additionally, COAST serves the Seacoast region, Wildcat Transit serves the University of New Hampshire and nearby towns, and CART serves Chester, Derry, Hampstead, Londonderry and Salem.

Five agencies serve the state’s rural communities. Yet, access is still scarce. Even today, Ethan’s conversations with his family revolve heavily around transportation.

“When I talk with my dad nowadays, the majority of the conversation is about what [car’s] broken and how are we going to come up with money to fix it,” he said.

What the PCAP suggests

On April 1, the N.H. Department of Environmental Services applied for federal environmental funding, requesting almost $50 million to fund six measures, including $5 million for support and expansion of public transportation options. 

According to the grant application, the money would be used to distribute “subawards to eligible entities that manage public transportation in the state.” Subawards would be based on adding or maintaining passenger miles of public transportation and achieving the goals of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program within the grant’s time frame. The state will not learn until July whether it will get any of that money.

Even a small increase in investment could be life-changing, Ethan said. 

“If something existed where my mom could visit her friends or go to the store on a bus, that would increase her quality of life,” he said.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.