SECTION 2. Transit authorities authorized; territories; powers, duties and liabilities

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.