Estuary Transit District

Estuary Transit District, doing business as River Valley Transit, is a transit provider in Central Connecticut.

History

Estuary Transit District was formed in 1981 through the cooperation of 9 towns (Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Killingworth, Lyme, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook) and operations commenced in summer of 1981, replacing a smaller public transportation system created by three towns (Chester, Deep River, and Essex) in 1976. The service was originally operated by the Estuary Council of Seniors. Estuary Transit District originally operated only on-demand service for a few days per week, but in 1996, they took on their first fixed-service route providing connections to a Dattco-contracted route, and by extension, the city of New Haven. The early 2000s brought many changes for Estuary Transit District, as they replaced their Tri-Town paratransit service with a new paratransit service called "The Bus" in July 2002, and in June 2004, they adopted the "9 Town Transit" branding. In November 2005, Estuary Transit District took all their operations in house instead of contracting out service. On July 1st, 2021, Estuary Transit District merged with Middletown Area Transit under the shared Estuary Transit District name (as one entity) while keeping separate brand identities on their buses. On March 29th, 2023, the new River Valley Transit, or RVT, shared name and branding was introduced, replacing the 9 Town Transit name. Despite this new branding, Estuary Transit District remains the name of the new merged transit agency.

Routes

Link to schedules

Fixed Routes

• 581 - Saybrook Road: Middletown Terminal to to Summerhill Apartments
• 582 - Wesleyan Hills: Middletown Terminal to Connecticut Dept. of Social Services
• 583 - Washington Street: Middletown Terminal to Sagamore Hills via Wesleyan University
• 584 - Newfield Street: Middletown Terminal to Cromwell Square
• 585 - Westlake Drive: Middletown Terminal to Cromwell Walmart via Westlake Drive
• 586 - Portland/East Hampton: Middletown Terminal to Edgewater Hills Apartments via Portland and East Hampton
• 590 - Meriden/Middletown: Middletown Terminal to Meriden Railroad Station
• 640 - Old Saybrook Loop to/from Old Saybrook Station
• 641 - Old Saybrook/Madison: Old Saybrook Station to Madison Scranton Gazebo via Clinton Crossing or Westbrook Outlets
• 642 - Old Saybrook/Chester: Old Saybrook Station to Chester Center
• 643 - Old Saybrook/New London: Old Saybrook Station to New London Union Station via Old Lyme
• 644 - Old Saybrook/Middletown: Old Saybrook Station to Middletown Terminal via Chester and Higganum
• 645 - Madison/Middletown: Middletown Terminal to Madsion Scranton Gazebo via Higganum and Clinton Crossing
• Clinton Trolley

Microtransit

RVT also operates four microtransit zones:

• Madison and Guilford: within the town borders of Madison and Guilford (connecting to routes 641 and 645)
• Middletown: around Downtown Middletown and the Wesleyan University campus (only operates during the school year, connecting to routes 581, 582, 583, 584, 585, 586, 590, 644, and 645)
• Shoreline: within the towns of Old Saybrook, Westbrook, and Essex (connecting to routes 640, 641, 642, 643, and 644)
• East Hampton: within the town borders of East Hampton (connecting to route 586)

Fares

Link to fares

Facilities

• Shoreline Garage: 17 Industrial Park Rd, Ste 6, Centerbrook, CT
• Middletown Terminal: 340 Main St, Middletown, CT
• Middletown Garage: 91 N. Main St, Middletown, CT

Roster

Accurate as of June 2025.

Active

Paratransit and fixed-route fleet are listed below.

Fleet Number(s)	Thumbnail	Build Date	Manufacturer	Model	Engine	Transmission	Notes
1501-1504		2015	Ford Coach and Equipment	E-450 Phoenix			2016 models, some may be retired
1901-1907		2019	Ford Coach and Equipment	E-450 Phoenix			Most still in 9 Town Transit livery
1911-1913		2019	Ford Coach and Equipment	E-450 Phoenix
2302-2303?		2023	Ford Coach and Equipment	E-450 Phoenix			Used for paratransit and XtraMile services. Potentially more vehicles, 2302 and 2303 spotted.
2401-2414?		2024	Ford Coach and Equipment	E-450 Phoenix			Some used for XtraMile service Potentially more vehicles, up to 2414 spotted.
2432		2024	New Flyer	XE35			Spotted in Middletown in May 2025 on route 584. Potentially more vehicles
2331-2334		2023	Gillig	BRT 29' (G27E102?2)			2333 spotted in Middletown in May 2025 on route 583.
1931-1933		2019	Gillig	Low Floor 29' (G27E102?2)	Cummins L9
2001-2003		2020	Ford StarTrans	Transit ?			2019 models
A37		2010	New Flyer	XD35	Cummins ISL9	Allison B400R	Ex-Connecticut Transit A37, acquired in January 2022. Used on Middletown routes
2031		2019	Gillig	Low Floor 29' (G27E102?2)	Cummins L9
2216-2219		2015	Gillig	Low Floor 29' (G27E102N2)	Cummins ISL9	Allison B300R
2220-2222		2016	Gillig	Low Floor 35' (G27B102N4)	Cummins ISL9	Allison B400R

Retired

Fleet Number(s)	Thumbnail	Build Date	Manufacturer	Model	Engine	Transmission	Notes
2203-2208		1991	Gillig	Phantom 30' (3096TB6V92T)	Detroit Diesel 6V92TA		Retired circa 2002-2003.
2209-2212		2002	Gillig	Low Floor 29' (G22E102R2)	Detroit Diesel Series 40	Allison B400R	Retired in 2016. View the series page for detailed disposition info.
2213-2215		2003	Gillig	Low Floor 35' (G22B102N4)	Detroit Diesel Series 40	Allison B400R	Retired in 2016. View the series page for detailed disposition info.
3007-3008, JA104		2012	Gillig	Low Floor 29' (G27E102N2)	Cummins ISL9	Allison B300R
4489, 4490, 4516-4519		2003	Ford StarTrans	E-450 ?	Ford 7.3L Power Stroke V8		4517 VIN: 1FDXE45F03HB06020 4519 VIN: 1FDXE45F03HB11072
5730-5732		2009	Ford StarTrans	E-350 ?	Ford 6.0L Power Stroke V8
?		1996	Thomas	?			1 unit.
?		1998	Ford	?			2 units.
?		1999	Ford	?			1 unit.
?		2002	IC Bus	?			2 units.

External Links

• Home page