Lowell Regional Transit Authority

I’m grateful that there’s local bus service in the suburbs north of Boston, considering that there could be no alternative to driving. But when you live close enough to Lowell, it makes sense to use that city as a transportation hub to reach nearby towns.
This bus has helped me immensely, from runs to the North Billerica and Lowell Train Station to getting home from the DMV. It’s also provided transportation to locations in Bedford and the Burlington Mall.
The price is definitely right: $ 1 within the same town and $ 1.50 everywhere else. It’s certainly a better price than taking a cab to the train station (which often costs $ 15 for a 3.5 mile ride) and pickup locations are pretty convenient to Billerica Center, including the Billerica Mall and the Billerica Library.
My qualms with the service concern the schedule, as it does not coincide well with the train. The bus often gets you to either station (N. Billerica or Lowell) just after the train has departed, meaning that you wait an hour. This is especially bad outside of rush hour and on the weekend — the most infrequent times to take the train, but you’d like there would be better coordination on this front. Fortunately, the Lowell Station has an indoor waiting room, though N. Billerica’s is closed on weekends, which can be intolerable in Winter months.
No matter how you look at it, we’re fortunate to have this extremely cheap service at our disposal. It’s saved me from missing a flight (by taking the train, then Logan Express) and getting me many places before I had a car. The system can’t be perfect.