Peter Pan takes over New Bedford-Boston bus service

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — Bus service in New Bedford rolled on as usual Tuesday morning, after weeks-long concern by commuters over a loss of a way to get to work, after DATTCO announced it would cancel its New Bedford-Boston bus line starting April 16.

Last week, however, Peter Pan Bus Line announced it would take over the service, sparing commuters from being forced to find another way to get to Boston on a daily basis.

Those at the bus stop Tuesday morning breathed a sigh of relief as the green Peter Pan bus pulled into the New Bedford SRTA bus terminal as they realized their morning commute would remain uninterrupted.

“We were sweating, me and a couple of my colleagues here were sweating it out because we didn’t know what we were going to do,” Charles Hicks said, who rides the bus to work in Boston.

In an announcement last month, DATTCO said it would cancel bus lines to Boston, citing profit losses and the impending opening of MBTA commuter rail service in New Bedford as the company’s reasons for suspending the bus lines stop in the Whaling City.

The announcement sent its daily customers into a frenzy because Southcoast rail service won’t be online until later this year at the earliest. As the April 16 date neared, riders started to consider other ways to get to work with the nearest train station currently 30 minutes away in Lakeville.

None of that was needed, however, as passengers were picked up Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., just as they have for years prior.