Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XXII Chapter 161B
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 161B, § 2 (2026)

Transit authorities authorized; territories; powers, duties and liabilities

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 2. The territory within and the inhabitants of each of the following groups of cities and towns may, upon compliance with section fourteen, become a body politic and corporate and a political subdivision of the commonwealth under the name preceding each group.

Southeastern Regional Transit Authority. The cities of New Bedford and Fall River, and the towns of Westport, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, Somerset and Swansea;

Greater Attleboro–Taunton Regional Transit Authority. The cities of Attleboro and Taunton and the towns of North Attleborough, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Mansfield, Norton, Raynham, Berkley and Dighton;

Brockton Regional Transit Authority. The city of Brockton and the towns of Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Easton, Hanson, Stoughton, West Bridgewater and Whitman;

Montachusetts Regional Transit Authority. The cities of Gradner, Fitchburg and Leominster, and the towns of Lunenburg and Westminster;

Merrimac Valley Regional Transit Authority. The cities of Lawrence and Haverhill and the towns of Andover, Groveland, Merrimac, Methuen and North Andover;

Lowell Regional Transit Authority. The city of Lowell and the towns of Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro and Westford;

Berkshire Regional Transit Authority. The city of Pittsfield and the towns of Dalton, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Hindsdale and Richmond;

''The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority''. The cities of Chicopee, Holyoke, Northampton, Springfield, Westfield, and the towns of Agawam, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Hadley, Longmeadow, Ludlow, South Hadley, West Springfield, Wilbraham and Amherst;

Worcester Regional Transit Authority. The city of Worcester and the towns of Auburn, Boylston, Grafton, Holden, Leicester, Millbury, Paxton, Shrewsbury and West Boylston;

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority. The towns of Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet and Yarmouth.

An authority established under the provisions of section three or section fourteen shall have the power to hold property, to sue and be sued in law and equity and to prosecute and defend in all actions relating to its property and affairs. Each authority shall be liable for its debts and obligations, but the property of an authority shall not be subject to attachment or levied upon by execution or otherwise. Process may be served upon the administrator of an authority or his designee. Section three of chapter twelve shall not apply to the authorities established under this chapter.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1981–2023 · leading case: Simmons v. Clerk-Magistrate of the Boston Div. of the Hous. Court Dep't, 448 Mass. 57 (Mass. 2006).
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Simmons v. Clerk-Magistrate of the Boston Div. of the Hous. Court Dep't, 448 Mass. 57 (Mass. 2006). “161A, § 2 (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is “a body politic and corporate, and a political *63 subdivision of the commonwealth”); G. L. c. 161B, § 2 (each regional transit authority, as specified, may become “a body politic and corporate and a political subdivision…”
Wallerstein v. Bd. of Bar Examiners, 610 N.E.2d 891 (Mass. 1993). “) (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority); G. L. c. 161B, § 2 (1990 ed.) (regional transit authorities); St.”
Paul Jones v. Montachusetts Reg'l Transit Auth. & Others. (Mass. App. Ct. 2023). “161B -- to create a series of regional transit authorities across the State, see G. L. c. 161B, §§ 2, 6, 25 -- we do not agree that by including in §§ 6 (f) and 8 certain enumerated powers vested in transit 9 MART raised the applicability of G.”
Theodore v. Uber Tech., Inc. (D. Mass. 2020). “Transit Authority, under M.G.L. c. 161B § 2. “The area constituting the authority and the inhabitants thereof are … a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision of the commonwealth, under the name of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.”
Howell v. John Leahy (D. Mass. 2022). “” Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 161B, § 2. Accordingly, as an arm of the state it is not a “person” under Section 1983.”
Kpakolo v. Harrigan, 2008 Mass. App. Div. 178 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 2008). “" G.L.c. 161B, §2. The WRTA services the “city of Worcester and the towns of Auburn, Boylston, Grafton, Holden, Leicester, Millbury, Paxton, Shrewsbury and West Boylston.”
Plymouth Cnty. Bus Transp., Inc. v. Greater New Bedford Reg'l Vocational Technical High Sch. Comm., 11 Mass. App. Ct. 551 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). “See the second paragraph of G. L. c. 161B, § 2. The transportation plan in this case concerned only students living in New Bedford.”
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