Editor’s note: GATRA is holding a virtual public meeting to discuss these changes at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2. Click here to join the Zoom meeting. To join by phone, call 646-558-8656. When prompted, enter the following information:
Meeting ID: 894 5467 0475
Passcode: 424609 

GATRA will soon be changing its routes through Wareham — and officials are looking for feedback from riders about the proposed changes.

Comments will be accepted until Jan. 3. The changes will go into effect sometime after that, likely in February.

The changes are meant to make the service more frequent, efficient and easier for riders to navigate.

In Wareham, the hub connecting lines will move from Cranberry Plaza on Cranberry Highway to the Wareham Village Station, located near the Wareham Fire Station on Main Street. 

Relocating the hub to Main Street has been in the works for some time, explained Mobility Manager Angela Constantino. Since Walmart moved to West Wareham, the Cranberry Plaza stop has been less useful. 

Instead of four routes through town, there will be two. The service area will stay roughly the same and there will be two buses on each route for a total of four in town. Currently, only three buses are running through Wareham. GATRA is also adding two no-stop zones in the interest of driver and rider safety, Constantino explained.

Service will also be more frequent, so riders could see a bus pass their stop every half hour.

Proposed Route A will start at the Wareham Village Station and go to Swifts Beach, Cromesett Rd., Shaw’s, Rosebrook, Wareham Crossing, Walmart, and the Middleborough/Lakeville MBTA station. The route will end at the intersection of Rte. 58 and Cranberry Highway. The section of Marion Rd. between Shaw’s and Cromesett will be a no-stop zone.

Route B will serve the Wareham Village Station, Mill Pond, YMCA, Glen Charlie Rd., Cranberry Plaza, Onset, Buzzards Bay Station, Agawam Village. Cranberry Highway between the Tractor Supply Co. and Main Ave. will be a no-stop zone. 

The Wareham-Plymouth route will start at the Wareham Village Station on Main Street, travel along Cranberry Highway to the courthouse, and continue north into Plymouth. It will also run far more frequently. Currently, the bus goes north once in the morning and comes south in the afternoon. In the future, it will complete three round trips each day in the morning, at midday, and in the afternoon.

The Wareham-New Bedford connection will now serve Wareham Village Station and Wareham Crossing, but not Cranberry Plaza. The route between New Bedford and the Wareham Town Hall will remain unchanged. Connections to the GATRA Wareham routes and the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority’s Bourne route can be made at the Wareham Village Station. The timing of this route will stay the same.

Constantino said that riders from New Bedford frequently want to go to Wareham Crossing. 

To view all route changes, go to gatra.org/public-meetings. 

There are a number of ways to give feedback about the proposed changes. Call GATRA at 800-483-2500, leave a voicemail or send a text message to  774-406-4911, email customercomments@gatra.org, or send the organization a message on Facebook @GATRATRANSIT.