NHLA Bill Review: Bill Text

Bill Text - HB1680 (2026)

Relative to intercity bus service and public transportation funding.

Revision: Dec. 11, 2025, 4:01 p.m.

HB 1680-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION

26-3093

07/09

HOUSE BILL 1680-FN

AN ACT relative to intercity bus service and public transportation funding.

SPONSORS: Rep. Salvi, Hills. 9; Rep. Gregg, Hills. 7; Rep. Spier, Hills. 6; Rep. Kluger, Hills. 6; Rep. Juris, Hills. 7; Rep. Chourasia, Hills. 11; Rep. R. Newman, Hills. 4; Rep. S. Newman, Hills. 4; Rep. Darby, Hills. 11; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Fenton, Dist 10

COMMITTEE: Transportation

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ANALYSIS

This bill requires the department of transportation to take steps to improve Boston express bus service and to prepare a report regarding such service.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

26-3093

07/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT relative to intercity bus service and public transportation funding.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Department of Transportation; Boston Express Service Directive. The department of transportation shall:

I. Take steps to increase the frequency of Boston express bus service from Nashua, Manchester, and Londonderry, to Boston, Massachusetts, with a particular focus on expanding options during peak commuting hours and late-night periods on Fridays and Saturdays.

II. Advocate for increased and consistent funding allocations within existing federal and state public transportation programs for Boston express bus service.

III. Take steps to support economic development, environmental sustainability, and regional connectivity between southern New Hampshire and Boston, Massachusetts by strengthening affordable, reliable, and efficient public transportation options.

IV. Allocate a portion of its federal intercity bus program funding to expand Boston express bus service in accordance with paragraph I.

V. The department of transportation shall prepare a report regarding Boston express bus service frequency, ridership data, and the impacts on workforce mobility and regional economic development of the Boston express bus service, and report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBA

26-3093

12/3/25

HB 1680-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to intercity bus service and public transportation funding.

FISCAL IMPACT: This bill does not provide funding.


Estimated State Impact
	FY 2026	FY 2027	FY 2028	FY 2029
Revenue	$0	$0	$0	$0
Revenue Fund(s)	None
Expenditures*	$0	Indeterminable
Funding Source(s)	Federal and State Funds
Appropriations*	$0	$0	$0	$0
Funding Source(s)	None
Expenditure = Cost of bill Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires the Department of Transportation to take steps to increase the frequency of Boston Express bus service from Nashua, Manchester, and Londonderry to Boston. No specific increased frequency or number of trips is identified, but emphasis on peak commuting hours and late nights on Friday and Saturday. The bill also requires the Department to prepare a report regarding such service.

The Department states the fiscal impact of this bill is indeterminable given the lack of specificity, as it requires only that the Department “take steps” to increase bus service. However, the table below shows estimated costs based on the assumptions of $6.25 per mile (including vehicle depreciation; does not include facility operating costs and 365 days of service:

Location	Round Trip Miles (to/from Boston’s South Station)	Estimated Total Cost Per Year for Each Additional Daily Round Trip	Estimated Total Cost Per Year for Each Additional Late-Night Trip (this includes Friday & Saturday)	Estimated Yearly Total of One Daily Commuter Roundtrip + One Additional Fri-Sat Late Night Trip
Londonderry	90	$205,000	$58,000	$263,000
Manchester	110	$250,000	$71,000	$321,000
Nashua	94	$215,000	$60,500	$275,500
Salem	68	$155,000	$44,000	$199,000
Total		$825,000	$233,500	$1,058,500

The Department has provided the following notes relative to the table above:

Costs shown represent gross operating costs for the bus services only. There would be tangential costs associated with facility management/operations at each of the state-owned terminals commensurate with the level of additional service.
The Department has no State funding for its commuter bus services. All funding is assumed to be Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 funding, which is annually apportioned to the Department. All FTA 5307 funding is programmed in the NH Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and Ten Year Transportation Improvement Plan (TYP), with all funds currently allocated to the Boston Express service and associated capital improvements at the state-owned bus terminals.
FTA 5307 funding is generally 80% federal participation, meaning the Department must provide 20% non-federal match funding. No State funds are appropriated for Boston Express Bus and currently matching funds are achieved via toll credits, which require approval of the Capital Project Oversight Committee (CPOC), and which make the project effectively 100% federally funded. Toll credits are assumed for planning purposes but are not guaranteed.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Transportation