Green Mountain Community Network
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| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 215 Pleasant St. |
| Locale | Bennington, Vermont |
| Service area | Bennington County, VT and fringes of adjacent counties |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit |
| Routes | 8 (5 local, 3 out-of-town connectors/commuters) |
| Hubs | 215 Pleasant St., Bennington |
| Fleet | 22 |
| Annual ridership | 64,900 (2010)[1] |
| Chief executive | Terence White |
| Website | Green Mountain Express official website |
Green Mountain Community Network (GMCN) is a private, nonprofit organization, that owns and operates the public transit system by local bus in Bennington County in southwestern Vermont called the Green Mountain Express. Their bus service currently has 3 local "fixed deviated" weekday routes in Bennington: the Red, Blue and Brown routes, which can deviate up to 1/4 mile from their alignment upon request. They also have two local Saturday (Green and Light Green) routes, and three commuter routes: the Orange Line, with weekday plus Saturday service to Manchester; the Purple Line, with weekday service to Williamstown, Massachusetts; and the Emerald line, with weekday service to Wilmington.[2] The Emerald Line is a partnership between West Dover-based Southeast Vermont Transit's "the MOOver" and GMCN.[3]
The company also provides paratransit and Medicaid transportation services for Bennington County.
GMCN had an annual ridership of approximately 64,900 in fiscal year 2010, the second fewest of any public bus transit provider in Vermont for that time period when not including the Brattleboro BeeLine (now fully operated by the Current).[4] They now have an annual ridership of about 135,000.[5] There are 22 wheelchair accessible vehicles in GMCN's fleet. Their management headquarters, bus garage and transit hub are located at 215 Pleasant Street in Bennington.
Prior to February 2007 and dating back to 1985, the Green Mountain Chapter of the American Red Cross filled the role of providing the Bennington area's public transportation needs.[6]
On July 9, 2012, GMCN added the Emerald Line to their schedule with weekday service to Wilmington, along with the opening of the renovated Pleasant St office building as their transit center.[7] And as of March 18, 2019, the Yankee Trails Bennington shuttle and Vermont Translines' Albany to Burlington and Shires Connector intercity bus routes use the transit center as their main Bennington stops as well.[8][9][10]
As of January 19, 2015, trip planning via Google Maps is also available for GMCN bus routes.[11] And as of November 10, 2019, live bus tracking is available on the Transit mobile application for Android and Apple devices.[12]
In March 2020, GMCN became one of the first public transit agencies in Vermont to go fare free because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of 2023, GMCN maintains several partnerships with community organizations as part of its mission of "community outreach."[13] These include partnerships with Sunrise Family Resource Center, Vermont Food Bank, Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging, United Counseling Service, Bennington Project Independence, and Vermont's Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities (O&D) Transportation Program. The O&D program through GMCN "supplements the regular transit service in the area, filling in gaps left by other transportation programs."[14] In the past three years, GMCN's partnership with the state of Vermont's O&D program has provided over 20,000 rides to Bennington County community members.[15]