Unlike the rather rural 5, the BRTA has deemed that the 12/14, a loop serving the southeast area of Pittsfield, is worthy of bidirectional service! Wow, people, this is huge: you can go both ways around this loop. I’m sure we’re dealing with a ridership powerhouse here!

We started off by heading south down North Street (heh) and then east down East Street (ah). While that main intersection featured some tall buildings and a common, things quickly got suburban on East Street. I mean, how can something as cool-sounding as the “Berkshire Athenaeum” just be a bland brick building with a parking lot? Boring! At least Pittsfield High School had much better architecture.

We swung onto Elm Street, which crossed the East Branch Housatonic River and became home to lots of suburban businesses and houses. It got more residential the further we went, but for Pittsfield standards, these neighborhoods were fairly dense! Elm Street was pretty much all houses for the entire rest of its length, and besides a bit of retail immediately after we turned left onto Williams Street, that was houses too.

Williams Street curved left to become Dalton Division Road, right alongside an organic supermarket. This street was more woodsy, but houses were common enough, and among them was the entrance to a whole development of them. Just as things start to get more industrial, the route now supposedly features a deviation to “Federico Drive”, a little office complex; however, it didn’t exist back when I rode the route, so we had to sit tight until the next deviation a minute later into a different industrial park.

Yes, this deviation served the buildings along “Downing Industrial Parkway”, which included the BRTA garage! Whoa! Upon our return to the main road, the industry shifted over to the Pittsfield mall complex that’s served by a ton of routes. This area got a double-deviation: first we served Walmart (part of the “Berkshire Crossing” complex), then we headed over to the Allendale Shopping Center.

After our deviations, we headed down Merrill Road, passing a few final malls before entering another industrial area. Using Junction Road to cross some train tracks, we pulled onto East Street, passing more industrial buildings and a few restaurants. We then took a left onto Newell Street, a mostly residential road with a few businesses here and there. This merged its way onto Elm Street, and from there, it was back to the Intermodal Center the same way we had left it.

BRTA Route: 12/14 (Southeast Loop)

Ridership: Okay, the “powerhouse” line actually wasn’t a joke: if you consider the 12 and 14 to be one route, which they essentially are, they’re the third-busiest on the system. They get about 229 riders per day on weekdays, while on Saturdays when only the 12 runs, it’s about 120 people.

Pros: Bidirectional loop! I approve. It’s set up perfectly too: because the mall area is at about the halfway point of the loop, the hourly 12 and 14 combine for half-hourly service from both the Intermodal Center and the mall area! On Saturdays only the 12 runs, but it’s still hourly, which isn’t bad. Even besides the malls, these routes do serve some relatively dense residential areas.

Cons: A few of the deviations seem excessive, especially Federico Drive, which is apparently low-ridership enough to be “request only” on the 14. Great. I also find it odd that only the 12 serves Newell Street, while the 14 travels straight down East Street – why the split? They’re both two-way streets!

Nearby and Noteworthy: Oh hey, an escape room in the middle of an industrial park! Neat!

Final Verdict: 7/10
Yeah, you know what, these are decent! They get the highest ridership of the Pittsfield local routes, and for good reason: they’re frequent and they serve dense areas. They certainly have quirks, and these would be great candidates for Sunday service if that was ever considered, but if you’re in the southeastern part of Pittsfield, you’ve got yourself a decent lil’ bus route! Or two.

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