Arranging a Ride

SVTC and NTS are committed to making this service friendly, convenient and comfortable for all of our passengers. 

How can you help?

• Please be prompt and ready for the bus to arrive.
  Remember the drivers can only wait 5 minutes for a passenger to board the bus

• Only schedule rides you plan to take

• Call in advance to cancel rides you no longer need

Helpful Hint: There is more space available in the schedule for shopping rides on Monday and Tuesdays. Try shopping earlier the week! For safety reasons, NTS will continue to limit each passenger to only two shopping bags.

 Helpful Hint: Allow extra time for medical appointments or other appointments that may take longer than expected. This will reduce the extra costs of sending an additional vehicle to pick you up if you miss your ride home due to a delay

Helpful Hint: Don’t hesitate to ask the office staff at your appointment location for help making a call to adjust your pick-up time. They want you to be able to get home safely too.

Helpful Hint: When scheduling your appointments and rides, be sure that the place you are going to will be open when the bus drops you off at that destination. Given our New England winters, this is important to remember for your safety and health.

• For the comfort and safety of all passengers, eating, drinking, smoking and the use of other tobacco products are not permitted in the vehicles. 

• Radios and cell phones are a distraction to the driver and other passengers, EARPHONES only, please. 

• All passengers are required to wear a seatbelt or have their wheelchair secured by the driver.

• Once you are inside the vehicle, the driver will assist you with your seatbelt, if requested, and secure your wheelchair if you have one.

• Please be prepared to meet the vehicle at the curb if you do not need assistance.  If you do need assistance getting to the vehicle, and have told us so, please be ready at the building entrance door that you specified while making your reservation.

• When boarding, please have the EXACT FARE ready. The drivers cannot make change.

• The vehicle may arrive anytime within a thirty (30) minute “pick-up window” -  up to fifteen (15) minutes before and fifteen (15) minutes after your scheduled pick-up time. For example, if your pick-up time is scheduled for 9:00 AM, the vehicle will arrive between 8:45AM and 9:15AM.

• Disruptive, discourteous or destructive behavior cannot be tolerated and could result in a passenger losing their privileges to use the bus service.

A reminder: Rides to/from Nashua – Will arrive in Nashua no earlier than 10 AM and last pick-ups to return home will depart Nashua by 4 PM. Please schedule your appointments around these times.

A reminder: As a general rule, SVTC and NTS do not limit the number of rides used by a passenger each week. However, during 2019, the Blue Bus experienced periods of very large increases in ride requests to the point where demand for the service was exceeding our operational and funding resources. For that reason a new policy became effective August 12, 2019 - In periods when ride requests are extremely high, NTS may need to temporarily limit passengers to 3 (three) non-healthcare related rides per week in order to serve as many passengers as possible. Thank you in advance for your patience when this occurs!

For the comfort and safety of everyone riding the bus,

please adhere to all of the Nashua Transit System’s rules and regulations.

Thank you!

The Souhegan Valley Transportation Collaborative (SVTC) and the Nashua Transit System (NTS) would like to provide all the transit service that is requested in our service area.  Misuse of the bus  service, such as excessive No-Shows or Cancelations, prevents us from providing as much service as would be possible.

Therefore, it is very important that riders call to cancel any trips that they no longer need so that our staff can offer a ride to other eligible riders.  It is equally important that riders avoid scheduling trips that they are uncertain will be needed, as spaces in the daily schedule are reserved and often are not used when riders habitually cancel their scheduled trips.

No-shows and “last minute” ride cancellations are major contributors to service costs and system inefficiency. Rides that are canceled too late to schedule another trip in their place can often result in wasted expense and unused capacity. Failure to cancel a ride with enough advance notice (at least 2 hours prior to beginning of the pick-up time) negatively impacts the service for everyone.

What is a No-Show? A No-Show is when a passenger or their representative has scheduled a ride and:

• The vehicle arrives on time, but the passenger no longer wants the ride, or

• The vehicle arrives on time, but the driver cannot locate the passenger at the requested pick-up location, or

• The vehicle arrives on time, waits for 5 minutes, but the passenger is not ready to go, or

• The passenger or their representative calls to cancel a scheduled ride less than 2 hours before the start of the scheduled pick-up window. This type of late cancellation will be considered a No-Show

We recognize that sometimes “things happen” beyond your control that cause you to miss a pick-up time or be late to cancel a ride. Some examples include - you have a sudden illness and are hospitalized, or your Doctor cancels an appointment at the “last minute”.  Allowances can be made in situations that are “beyond your reasonable control”. Please contact Nashua Transit to review these situations as they occur and especially if you receive a “No-Show” or “Service Suspension” letter. All passengers are entitled to appeal service related decisions to Nashua Transit and the Souhegan Valley Transportation Collaborative.

What If You Need To Cancel A Ride? If you need to cancel a ride, please call Nashua Transit (880-0100 ext. 2) as soon as possible. Whenever possible, please call at least a day in advance to cancel a ride, and preferably by 12 noon the day before the scheduled ride. Rides canceled less than 2 hours before the scheduled pick-up time will be considered a No-Show. Please remember to let the dispatcher know if you also are canceling your ride home or any other rides scheduled for that day. The earlier you cancel a ride reservation, the greater the chance that Nashua Transit can accommodate another passenger’s ride request.

What If Your Appointment Is Running Late?

If your appointment is running later than you expected and there is a chance you will not be ready for your scheduled return trip, call or ask the office staff to call Nashua Transit as soon as possible (880-0100 ext.2). The NTS dispatchers will work with you to adjust the pick-up schedule and you can avoid being assessed a “No-Show” for missing your originally scheduled ride. Please be aware that the new pick-up time may be later than your request.

If a passenger demonstrates a pattern or practice of missing scheduled trips or not canceling trips within the required time, that person’s eligibility to use the service may be suspended for fifteen (15) business days. Passengers will receive written reminder letters about no-show events and, if warranted, a letter of suspension in the mail. If a passenger believes that an error has been made, it is their responsibility to call NTS upon receipt of the letter. These rules were developed in conformance with federal regulations and industry standards.