Several Bus Routes Eliminated in Dutchess County, Others Added

Dutchess County announced major changes to the Loop Bus service that will severely impact riders.

In an effort to streamline the Dutchess County Public Transportation service, County Executive Sue Serino announced several schedule changes that will take place starting on January 4.

According to Serino, the changes are necessary to ensure "efficiency in the bus system to keep it sustainable for the future". Starting next month, extra runs will be added to the most popular bus routes in Dutchess County while almost a dozen other routes and stops will be completely eliminated.

Dutchess County Bus Routes Eliminated

As a result of the changes, public transportation at several current routes in Dutchess County will no longer be offered. Starting January 4, buses will no longer be available along the 9G corridor between Poughkeepsie and Tivoli. Stops in Dover and Wasaic will also be eliminated on Route D.

Route H from Dutchess County College to the Poughkeepsie Train Station will also be completely eliminated. Instead, a new bus will be offered for students to travel back and forth to the Hudson Heritage Shopping Center across from Marist.

Other runs will be taken off the schedule due to what the county describes as "low ridership". The Route K bus departing from Poughkeepsie will no longer run at 9:15pm and 10:15pm. Route L service will end evening runs after 8pm, Route M will end at 6:12pm and Route P will end at 8:12pm. RailLink service to the Poughkeepsie and New Hamburg train stations will also be completely eliminated.

Service Added to Busiest Bus Routes in Dutchess County

According to Dutchess County officials, a new express service between Poughkeepsie and Fishkill is being added with stops at Walmart and the Amazon Warehouse. Sunday service will also be added to the Beacon Free Loop.

A full list of the changes was released last week.

In October, Dutchess County Public Transit launched a new mobile app and tracking system named SPOT that allows riders to receive real-time tracking of buses and schedules on riders' favorite routes.