Other Smithie bloggers have probably talked about our local bus system, the PVTA (pronounced piv-tah). However, what others may not have talked about is how to get farther than just the surrounding towns of Northampton. The answer: the Peter Pan bus. I’ve used this three times since coming to Smith (all for debate) but plenty of other people people have used it for leisure, like weekend getaways to New York and Boston or just to visit home. How it works is that you go online to the Peter Pan bus website and you choose your current location and your destination. Tickets are typically around $30-40 and you can choose round trip or single trip. Then, pretty important, you have to print your ticket. Certain drivers won’t let you on without a physical ticket, though some do so don’t freak out too much if you don’t have it. Another important thing, if you miss your bus and don’t call to reschedule 2 hours before your bus, you need to buy a new ticket. Anyway, once you’ve got your ticket all good to go, you just show up to the bus station in Northampton, which is located down the street from Glazed Donuts and behind the Academy of Music. From there, buses usually take you to the South Station Bus Terminal, which has connecting buses to places like NY as well as trains that can take you pretty much anywhere in Boston. It’s easy, relatively inexpensive, and worth trying during your time at Smith.
