Norwalk Transit District

	236px
	250px Norwalk Transit District Gillig Advantage #167 at the WHEELS Pulse Point, on Route 13.
Founded	1978
Headquarters	275 Wilson Avenue; Norwalk, CT 06854
Locale	Southwestern Connecticut
Service area	Norwalk, Danbury, Westport, Greenwich, and nearby communities
Service type	Local bus service
Routes	Norwalk: 18; Westport: 9; Greenwich: 2; Route 7 link to Danbury; Coastal Link to Milford
Hubs	Norwalk WHEELS hub; (for Norwalk routes)
Fleet	56
Daily ridership	2005: 6,299 (weekday); 2,927 (Saturday); 523 (Sunday) [1]
Operator	Norwalk Transit District
Chief executive	Louis Schulman (general manager)
Website	Official Website

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The Norwalk Transit District is the primary provider of public transportation services in Norwalk, Connecticut and surrounding communities. The district's fixed-route bus transit system, known as WHEELS, is the primary service of the system linking Norwalk and its immediate suburbs as well as peak-hour service as far north as Danbury (with HART) and as far east as Bridgeport (with GBTA) as well as shuttles to Metro-North stations. Paratransit services are also available for residents in the service area unable to use regular transit services.

The city of Norwalk founded the Norwalk Transit District in 1978, seven years after The Connecticut Company ceased operations in Norwalk outside of their route linking Norwalk to Stamford (which continues as Connecticut Transit Stamford Route 41). Though an entity of its city, the district does also receive funding from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and has both its funds and transfers synched to those of the DOT-aligned CT Transit though it has not piggybacked onto that agency's bus orders.

Routes

WHEELS operates fixed routes throughout its service area. A "pulse-point" system is used with all routes meeting at the "WHEELS Hub" in downtown Norwalk to facilitate instant transfers between routes plus CT Transit Route 41 (though passengers on WHEELS routes 11 and 13 can transfer earlier/later during their shared area on U.S. Route 1). Fares as of 2012 are $1.50 (US) with a free transfer which can be used on WHEELS, CT Transit, HART, GBTA, or Milford Transit.

WHEELS Services

12 fixed route services, all in the city limits of Norwalk, which run as bidirectional loops from the transit hub, starting at approximately 5:00 am and ending at 8:00 pm weekdays and (most routes) 7:00 am–7:00 pm weekends.
- Regular Routes
  - Route 1- to Fox Run
  - Route 2- to Broad River
  - Route 3- to Union
  - Route 4- to West Rocks
  - Routes 5/6- to Newtown/Wolfpit
  - Route 7- to Norden Park
  - Route 8- to Shady Beach
  - Route 9- to Woodward
  - Route 10- to Wilson
  - Route 11- to Norwalk Community College
  - Route 12- to McKinley
  - Route 13- to Richards
2 "Evening Shuttle" routes which provide extra service alongside Main Street and Connecticut Avenue. These buses also meet arriving and departing trains at Metro-North Railroad's South Norwalk station.
2 "Sunday Shuttle" routes which run alongside Main Street and Connecticut Avenue which are similar to the Evening Shuttles.
- Main Ave
- Connecticut Ave
3 regional routes
- The Coastal Link, a Daily regional route running to Bridgeport and Milford operated with the GBTA and Milford Transit District and funded by CDOT.
- The Route 7 Link, a weekday route running between Norwalk and Danbury operated with HART and funded by CDOT.
- Connecticut Transit Route 41, a weekday route running between Norwalk and Stamford operated with Connecticut Transit Stamford and funded by CDOT.
4 commuter shuttle routes
- Norwalk Hospital/Belden Avenue
- Merritt 7/Glover Avenue
- Westport Road/Wilton
- CT Ave/ NCC
2 School trip routes
- Norwalk High
- Brien McMahon High

Outside Norwalk, WHEELS offers several variable services including:

Routes serving the town of Westport (Route 1- Downtown/Post Road West)
Westport commuter service (Route G1- Coleytown to Green Farms Station, Route G2- Long Lots to Green Farms Station, Route S2- Old Hill to Saugatauck Station, Route S3- Riverside to Saugatauck Station, Route S4- Post Rd to Saugatauck Station)
ADA and Paratrasit service for much of Fairfield County
A commuter shuttle route serving Greenwich (Central Loop)

Fleet

Manufacturer/Model	Order Year	Series (Qty.)	Powertrain	Service	Notes
Gillig LF 29'	2002	G101-G104 (4)	Cummins ISL/ Allison B300R	Greenwich Service	Active
New Flyer D40LF	2003	329 (1)	Detroit Diesel 50EGR/ Allison B400R5	Coastal Link	Leased from CT Transit Used on CL only Only bus in the fleet with a outside advertisement To be returned to CT Transit in 2017
Orion VII 07.502 35'	2004	147-165 (19)	Detroit Diesel 50EGR/ Allison B400R	WHEELS	Active Due to be retired in 2017
Gillig LF 35'	2005	167-169 (3)	Cummins ISL EPA05/ Allison B400R6	WHEELS	Active These units has a GPS system with automated announcements
Gillig LF 29'	2008	228-229 (2)	Cummins ISL9/Allison B300R	Shuttle	Active
Gillig LF 35'	2008	170-173 (4)	Cummins ISL9/ Allison B300R	WHEELS	Active These units has a GPS system with automated announcements
Gillig LF 29'	2010	230 (1)	Cummins ISL9/ Allison B300R	Shuttle	Active 231 was retired for an unknown reason and was replaced by 231(2)
Gillig LF 35'	2010	174-175 (2)	Cummins ISL9/ Allison B400R6	WHEELS	Active These units has a GPS system with automated announcements
Gillig LF 40'	2010	176 (1)	Cummins ISL9/Allison B400R6	Coastal Link	Active Used only on CL This unit has a GPS system with automated announcements
New Flyer XD40	2015	177-178 (2)	Cummins ISL9/ B400R6	Coastal Link	Active Replaced 2001 New Flyer D40LF's 135 and 136 First buses in fleet to have security cameras and is fitted with the new GPS system with automated announcements
Gillig LF 29'	2015	231-242 (12)	Cummins ISL9 EPA 14\ Allison B300R	Shuttle	Replaced 2002 Thomas Dennis SLFs Active
35' Diesel	2016	TBA (19)	Cummins ISL9/ Allison B400R6	WHEELS	To replace 2004 Orion VIIs Order to be awarded soon
40' Diesel	2016 or 2017	TBA (1)	Cummins ISL9/ Allison B400R6	Coastal Link	To replace 2003 New Flyer D40LF 329 Order to be awarded soon
29' Diesel	2016	TBA (3)	Cummins ISL9/ Allison B300R6	Shuttle	For fleet expansion Order to be awarded soon