Lowell Regional Transit Authority
The Lowell Regional Transit Authority is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to the Greater Lowell area. This primarily includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Billerica, Burlington, Dracut, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford and Wilmington. The LRTA provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services within this area, although some fixed lines do extend beyond these towns.
The LRTA was created in September 1974 under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws, the law that impacts all transit authorities in the state of Massachusetts. Since 2004, operation of the LRTA has been subcontracted to First Transit, a subsidiary of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup.
The area served by the LRTA is within the commuter rail service area of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. At the Gallagher Transit Terminal in Lowell, LRTA buses provide connection to each other, to trains on MBTA's Lowell Line, and to various intercity bus routes.
Routes
All of the routes serve Monday through Friday and most provide Saturday service. All routes originate at the LRTA Gallagher Terminal in Lowell.| Route | Outbound terminal | Major streets of operation | History and notes |
| 1 Christian Hill | Dracut Village Square Plaza | Beacon Street, Humphrey St |
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| 2Belvidere | Belvidere River Road and Trull Lane | Roger Street, Douglas Road, Andover Street | |
| 3 South Lowell | North Billerica | Lawrence Street, Woburn Street | |
| 4 Highland Via Stevens | Ayres City V.A Clinic | Stevens Street |
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| 5Westford Street/Drum Hill | Chelmsford Drum Hill Shopping Center | Westford Street, Drum Hill Road |
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| 6Broadway/UMass Lowell | University of Massachusetts Lowell South Campus | Thorndike Street, Broadway Street |
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| 7Pawtucketville/UMass Lowell North | Tyngsborough Greater Lowell Regional Vocational Technical School | Merrimack Street, University Avenue, Vamum Avenue |
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| 8Centralville | Dracut Hannaford Shop & Save | Dutton Street, West Sixth Street |
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| 9Lowell Circulator | University of Massachusetts Lowell Fox Hall | Inbound: Fletcher Street, Merrimack Street, Market Street Outbound: Appleton Street, East Merrimack Street, Father Morissette Boulevard |
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| 10Dracut/Tyngsborough | Tyngsborough Dracut Road & Massachusetts-New Hampshire State Line | Bridge Street, Lakeview Avenue |
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| 11IRS/Raytheon | Andover Raytheon Company | Andover Street, Lowell Street |
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| 12Tewksbury | Wilmington | Roger Street, Livingston Street, Main Street |
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| 13Billerica via Edson | Burlington Cambridge Street & Chestnut Street | Gorham Street, Boston Road, Cambridge Street |
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| 14Burlington/Lahey | Lahey Clinic | Gorham Street, Boston Road, Middlesex Turnpike |
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| 15Chelmsford/Westford | Littleton IBM | Gorham Street, Billerica Street, Littleton Road |
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| 16 Chelmsford | Chelmsford Drum Hill Shopping Center | Chelmsford Street, Smith Street |
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| 17North Chelmsford | North Chelmsford Main Street & Groton Road | Middlesex Street, North Road, Tyngsborough Road |
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| 18Downtown Shuttle | Lowell | Inbound: Merrimack Street, Market Street, Middlesex Street Outbound: Dutton Street, French Street |
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| 19Pheasant Lane | Nashua Pheasant Lane Mall | Middlesex Street, Tyngsborough Road |
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| 20Downtown/UMass North | University of Massachusetts Lowell North Campus | Merrimack Street |
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