Pioneer Valley Transit Authority

The Springfield Area Transit Company (SATCo) operates the southern portion of PVTA's service area, servicing Hampden County. SATCo, located at 665 Cottage Street in Springfield, is managed by First Transit. All SATCo fixed-route buses are numbered in the 1000 series. SATCo transports more than 9 million passengers annually.

A route 31 PVTA/UMass bus at the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center

UMass Transit Services operates PVTA's routes through the Five Colleges area in eastern Hampshire County and neighboring towns, with most of the routes centered around UMass Amherst, the largest ridership generator in the service area. UMass Transit Services is a department within the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[5] The UMass Transit garage is located on-campus at 255 Governors Drive, Amherst. All UMass Transit fixed-route buses are numbered in the 3000 series. UMass Transit is a student-based organization with more than 90% of the employees (i.e. bus drivers, mechanics, dispatchers) being UMass students, with the remaining employees falling under University 03 employment status or full time administrators. UMass Transit Services is one of the oldest student driver groups in the country, having been founded in 1969 as a demonstration grant from the Urban Mass Transit Administration. UMass Transit Services operates 10 routes with a fleet of 40 transit vehicles (35' - 60'). Service runs 12 months a year, 20 hours per day, seven days per week. UMass Transit Services transports more than 3.5 million passengers annually.

The Valley Area Transit Company (VATCo) operates the central portion of PVTA's service area. All of its routes originate from Northampton, providing connections to the UMass Transit service area via Route 9, and to the SATCo service area on the other side of the Mount Tom Range via Routes 5 and 10. VATCo, located at 54 Industrial Drive in Northampton, is managed by First Transit. All VATCo fixed-route buses are numbered in the 7000 series.

ADA Paratransit Service is provided by MV Transit for the entire service area, except for the University of Massachusetts, where the UMass Accessible Van Service (operated by UMass Transit Services) provides service for University members. Amherst-area paratransit passengers who are not members of the University community are served by MV. All paratransit vehicles are numbered in the 5000 series.

The fixed-route van shuttles (Ware-Palmer Circulator, Ware-Palmer Express, and Nashawannuck-Easthampton Express) are operated by Hulmes Transportation Services. These routes are operated by vans numbered in the 1200 series.

These routes are operated by the Springfield Area Transit Company (SATCo), except for the Ware-Palmer Circulator and Ware-Palmer Express, which are operated by Hulmes Transportation Services.

These routes are operated by UMass Transit Services (UMTS). See UMass Transit fixed routes for more information.

These routes are operated by the Valley Area Transit Company (VATCo), except for the Nashawannuck Express, which is operated by Hulmes Transportation Services.

One-way fixed-route fares are noted below.

NOTE: Buses operated by UMass Transit Services (3000-series) do not have fareboxes (see UMass Transit buses below).

One-way fares for adults 13 and older are $1.40 if purchased at the PVTA Customer Service Center at Springfield Union Station. Transfers for children 6-12 are $0.25, and transfers for mobility impaired passengers and seniors are $0.10.

All passes are good through the end of the service day.

• 1-Day passes are sold on PVTA Springfield and Northampton buses at the fareboxes, as well as at ticket vending machines at Springfield Union Station, Holyoke Transportation Center, and Westfield Olver Transit Pavilion.
• 7- and 31-day passes are sold at Big Y supermarkets in the service area, at Springfield Union Station (at the PVTA Customer Service Center as well as the ticket vending machines), at the Holyoke Transportation Center (at the customer service center as well as the ticket vending machine), at the Westfield Olver Transit Pavilion (ticket vending machines only), and by the Western New England University's bursar office.
• The 31-day pass is also sold on the PVTA website.
• Riders should not rely on PVTA ticket vending machines at Union Station, Holyoke Transportation Center, and Westfield Olver Transit Pavilion as they are out of service as of 2019. Tickets can be purchased with credit/debit cards at Customer Service Centers, open 9 am – 4:45 pm Monday through Friday. Monthly passes can be purchased at Big Y Supermarket Customer Service counters during other hours.
• Riders paying cash must use exact change on board.

PVTA offers riders the ability to purchase fares and passes on their smartphone, removing the need to pay cash on board or purchase passes ahead of time, using the MassDOT BusPlus app.[51] Tickets and passes purchased on smartphones are visually validated by bus operators upon boarding. This program launched on July 19, 2020.[52]

PVTA buses operated by UMass Transit do not charge fares. See here for more details.