Haverhill and Lawrence, MA (April 19, 2023) ­– Traveling between Northern Essex Community College’s campuses is getting easier. Shuttle service will resume starting for the fall 2023 semester. Students will be picked up at the bus stop on the Haverhill Campus near the Elliot Street entrance and in front of the El Hefni building in Lawrence. The shuttle will start running at 7 am Monday through Thursday, with the last shuttle departing at 3:45 pm. The schedule could be expanded depending on ridership and demand.

The shuttle will leave the Haverhill Campus every hour.

“This service will provide students with reliable and safe transportation and it will cut down travel time” says Sarah Pachano, NECC’s student trustee. “The shuttle will also help the sense of community and belonging on both campuses.”

Restoring the service was a top priority for Pachano as a trustee and member of the Student Government Association. After polling students and collecting data, she worked with the college to develop a sustainable solution to ease transportation between campuses. “We have hired a coordinator of the service that will work to ensure service is provided, data is tracked, and work study/interns are trained to cover the length of service needed,” says Northern Essex CFO Mike McCarthy.

Northern Essex will own and operate the shuttle. Prior to the pandemic, shuttle service was provided between the campuses as part of a partnership between NECC and MVRTA. It was put on hold in March 2020 as classes moved online and brought back in the fall of 2021 as in-person class offerings increased. However, ridership never returned to pre-pandemic levels, with fewer than 10 students riding daily. The shuttle was discontinued in October of 2021.

The shuttle will depart from in front of the El Hefni Building in Lawrence every half hour.

To compensate, MVRTA agreed to let NECC students, faculty, and staff ride free on the existing bus schedule. The option is still available, though the new shuttle service will be significantly faster and more efficient.

“I’ve been working on this since August because I think this is a very important thing to have in our school and I’m so glad to have it,” says Pachano.

Learn more about transportation options by visiting the webpage.