Flex Bus to Switch Schedule after Labor Day

Flex Bus to switch to an hourly schedule after Labor Day

Some stops will be added, changed

The Lower/Outer Cape’s popular Flex bus will switch to an off-season, “almost every hour” schedule on the day after Labor Day, and new main stops will be added in Orleans and Eastham.

Beginning Tuesday, September 5, the bus will run between Harwich Port and North Truro every hour, Monday-Saturday, from 6:30am to 8:30pm. The exceptions are at mid-day and late afternoon when service will be less frequent.

“We will fine tune the fall schedule to the needs of year-round residents,” said Brian Currie of Falmouth, Advisory Board chair of the Cape Cod RTA, provider of the service. “With sky-high gas prices, Flex has become a real travel alternative for workers, students and seniors.”

Fares will remain at $1 per ride, and another dollar for off-route trips. People 60 and older and those with disabilities ride for half fare. The RTA offers frequent-rider passes on Flex and all of its routes: a monthly pass is good for unlimited rides for $35, and a “transit pass” is worth a 25 percent discount on 20-rides.

Flex has been attracting an average of nearly 3,000 riders per week, well above projections. It offers traditional bus service along a regular route and off-route trips to destinations with ¾ of a mile of the main route, by advance reservation. Flex uses compact buses recently purchased for the RTA by Cape Cod National Seashore and the National Park Service.

New Flex Stops

Brewster Fire Chief Roy Jones, who serves as chair of a community working group, said a stop will be added weekdays at Nauset Regional High School in the late afternoon and early evening to accommodate students who stay late for activities and events. Underground Plaza on Rte. 6A in Orleans will also be a new stop, serving restaurants, shops and the Lighthouse Charter School.

No. Truro Stop Moved

The North Truro stop is moving a few hundred feet east along Highland Road, from in front of Dutra’s Market to the area near the Rte. 6 overpass. Provincetown passengers may change at the new stop to and from the Provincetown-North Truro Shuttle at no cost through October 15.

Direct Service to Provincetown

RTA Administrator Joseph Potzka said Flex will begin to serve Shore Road in North Truro and Provincetown from October 16 on, when the Shuttle retires for the season. “In those areas only, people will be able to flag down the bus as they do with the Shuttle,” he said. “Also on October 16, we will add Provincetown Flex stops at MacMillan Pier and the Grand Union Supermarket.”

Off-route trips will be available in three Provincetown areas only: Outer Cape Health Services and nearby destinations on Harry Kemp Way, housing areas on Seashore Park Drive north of Rte. 6, and in the Provincetown Inn area in the West End, Potzka explained.

Hyannis passengers may connect along the Flex route to and from the RTA’s Hyannis to Orleans Breeze and to and from Plymouth & Brockton bus service.

For further information, maps and schedules, call RTA Customer Service at 800 352-7155 or go online to www.TheFlex.org.