| ABOUT HART
The district was created in 1972 through referendum
of the citizens of Danbury and Bethel as the Danbury-Bethel Transit
District. Privately run public transit had ceased in 1967, and
the region was seeking restoration of public transit service.
Over the years, the two town transit agency grew to include eight
towns with the addition of New Milford in 1978, Brookfield and
Newtown in 1985, Redding and Ridgefield in 1987 and New Fairfield
in 1988.
Staff of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected
Officials (HVCEO) managed the district's operations and called
meetings of the board of directors. In 1979, HVCEO sponsored a
study that led to the change in the name of the agency to Housatonic
Area Regional Transit.
The district was initially created to regulate
and oversee transportation services in the region, and did not
begin operation of service until 1982. At that time, the district
had two part time employees and all transit services were contracted
out to private and non-profit transit providers. Since 1991, HART
has operated its transit services directly, employing a staff
of nearly 90.
In October, 1992, HART completed the purchase
of its present bus maintenance/operations facility at 62 Federal
Road in Danbury. A year later, the HART Pulse Point/transfer station
was constructed in downtown Danbury. The facility includes covered
waiting areas, a ticket agent and driver restrooms.
In August 1996, HART began the rehabilitation
and expansion of its maintenance facility to include covered indoor
storage space for all vehicles, a bus washer and office space
large enough to locate all HART administrative staff under one
roof. The facility was formally dedicated in a ceremony on July
10, 1998.
The late nineties brought a series of new services, with the City
Center Trolley in 1996, The Danbury-Brewster Shuttle in 1998;
evening, Sunday and holiday jobs access services beginning in
1999, and Ridgefield-Katonah Shuttle and Danbury-Norwalk services
in 2002.
Most recently, the implementation of the
state dial-a-ride program in 2006 resulted in a significant increase
to SweetHART service provided in all towns, and new service to
the Town of Roxbury.
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