Bus Service to Return to Claremont, Newport & Charlestown

Residents of Claremont, Newport and Charlestown will once again be able to count on public transportation to get to-and-from work, shopping centers and medical appointments when public bus service resumes next week.

Keene-based Southwestern Community Services will begin offering its services in the area next Tuesday, nearly one month after Community Alliance of Transportation Services shut down its similar operation due to financial reasons.

The Valley News reports that Southwestern Community Services will utilize six drivers and a dispatcher who formerly worked for the Community Alliance to staff the additional workload. The previous service was shut down Sept. 9, with the company’s annual operating losses over the last three years averaging nearly $100,000. Officials from Claremont, Newport and Charlestown have all agreed to help fun the new service, though Claremont has not yet proposed a specific dollar amount.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation and Southwestern Community Services agreed on a contract that will expire in June of 2017.