Estuary Transit District

About Us

The Estuary Transit District (ETD) was formed in 1981 by nine towns of the Connecticut River Estuary Region to provide local, coordinated public transportation for residents of the area. Today, the district has grown to service 16 towns throughout Middlesex county and parts of New London county. The District operates under the name 9 Town Transit on the shoreline and Middletown Area Transit in northern Middlesex county.

The District is a political subdivision of the state of Connecticut created under the authority of chapter 103 (a) of the general statutes, and is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the member towns. The Board appoints an Executive Director to manage the day-to-day operations of the district. It is funded by fare revenue, the Federal Transit Administration, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and the sixteen participating towns.

ETD operates forty buses over 1.3 million miles annually. Service is provided by thirteen routes throughout the region, including direct service to transportation hubs in New London and Meriden and connections to New Haven, Hartford and New Britain. Demand response services, including general public Dial-A-Ride, XtraMile on-demand and ADA complimentary paratransit service are also offered.

Over the past decade, the District has seen tremendous growth in both services provided and usage. ETD now provides 66,000 hours of services with a $6 million operating budget transportating 360,000 passengers annually.