The dire financial woes of Green Mountain Transit will be the subject of a public forum next week.

The Ward 3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly (NPA) will host a public forum on the future of transit in Burlington and Chittenden County on Wednesday, October 7, at 7 PM in the Sharon Bushor Conference Room at Burlington City Hall, 149 Church Street. The forum will also be available virtually via Zoom.

Green Mountain Transit (GMT), the region’s public transit provider, is facing what has been described as an existential “fiscal cliff” threatening its ability to sustain current service levels. The forum comes amid recent changes to established GMT bus routes, prompting questions from riders and community members about reliable access to key regional destinations — including the University of Vermont (UVM) Medical Center and its outpatient facilities on Tilley Drive in South Burlington, Burlington International Airport, and the UVM campus.

The forum will bring together five panelists representing transit, health care, aviation, and research perspectives: Abby Bleything (UVM Office of Sustainability), Ashley Bond (UVM Health), Clayton Clark (General Manager, Green Mountain Transit), Nic Longo (Burlington International Airport), and Dana Rowangould (UVM Transportation Research Center).

“Public transit isn’t just a convenience — it’s how many of our neighbors get to work, to school, to the grocery store, and to their doctor’s appointments,” said Christopher Haessly, a member of the Ward 3 NPA Steering Committee. “This forum is a chance to hear directly from the people making decisions about the future of that system, and to ask the questions that matter most to our community.”

About the Ward 3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly

The Ward 3 Neighborhood Planning Assembly is a grassroots neighborhood organization established to encourage resident participation in city government. The NPA facilitates communication between city residents and elected officials through regular monthly meetings, providing an opportunity for ordinary residents to ask questions, voice concerns, and share news.