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Welcome to the November 2016 issue of MassMobility, covering news about community transportation, human service transportation coordination, and mobility management in Massachusetts.

In this month's issue, learn about exciting changes coming to Ride Match, a searchable transportation database targeted to seniors and people with disabilities, which has already helped over 200,000 people in Massachusetts find rides. Check out our job posting for a role on the MassMobility team, enjoy a feature on an advocate who works hard in the Lowell area to ensure that transportation is accessible to people with disabilities, and read more news from around Massachusetts.

This newsletter is compiled by MassMobility, a joint initiative of the 
Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and MassDOT. Above, we have added the MassDOT Rail & Transit logo to the newsletter to emphasize the joint nature of the mobility management work between EOHHS and MassDOT and the close working relationship between MassMobility and our colleagues at MassDOT Rail & Transit.
Ride Match launches new website
Finding a ride just got easier! Ride Match the searchable, online transportation database developed by GATRA , is expanding to be  statewide r esource . As part of the expansion, GATRA hired Odonnell Company to create a more user-friendly website and a new logo to reflect the expanded scope.
 
Visitors to the updated site will find it easier to use than the old version. For example, users no longer have to know the counties they are traveling from or to - only the city or town.   In addition, the new website offers multi-language support.

The new site also sports a new logo designed to emphasize the statewide nature of the resource. GATRA originally developed Ride Match for Southeastern Massachusetts, but thanks to a grant from MassDOT, they are partnering with Regional Transit Authorities around the state to make the information robust for every region of the Commonwealth.

"Sometimes the biggest challenge in finding accessible transportation is not having the right resources to begin your search," says Mary Basilone, GATRA's Mobility Manager and project manager for Ride Match. "The new Ride Match site not only improves awareness of how to find a ride, but also educates consumers and agencies about the characteristics of different transportation options, including fares and payment options, eligibility requirements, and accessibility needs."

If you notice a service that is missing from the database, contact GATRA or your Regional Transit Authority , or  transportation providers can apply directly to add their information. 
Work with MassMobility
We're hiring! Help support mobility management and transportation coordination across Massachusetts as a Mobility Coordinator .
Regional planners collaborate to study transportation needs across state lines
Seeing a potential need for Connecticut residents to get to South Central Massachusetts and Worcester, the Northeast Connecticut Transit District approached the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission to see whether the need for transportation across state lines might be mutual. In early November, the two agencies released a joint survey to gauge demand for transportation between South Central Massachusetts and Northeastern Connecticut. Planners published an online survey and distributed hard copies to libraries and other public spaces in Dudley, Southbridge, and Webster, as well as towns in northern Connecticut. The planners expect to analyze the results in early 2017 and then determine next steps.
Drivers can save money with E-ZPass
October 28 was the last day that drivers in Massachusetts could pay tolls with cash. MassDOT has now switched to all electronic tolling. Drivers who use an E-ZPass transponder to pay tolls receive a discount.

The transponders themselves are free. Drivers can get a transponder online or in person. When you first get a transponder, you will be asked to load at least $20 into your account. As you drive through tolls, the system will deduct charges from the funds available in your account.

Drivers no longer need to stop at tollbooths, but MassDOT encourages everyone to drive carefully and safely through tollbooth demolition areas.

Councils on Aging or other agencies that wish to help their consumers learn about the new system can request a visit from the E-ZPass van to do onsite sign-ups and answer questions.
New tool identifies roadways with high potential for complete streets
As more and more cities and towns across Massachusetts adopt complete streets policies, planners at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) repeatedly heard that municipalities lacked data to prioritize which streets should receive pedestrian and bicycle improvements. Cities and towns tended to have access to information about pavement condition, but beyond that most relied on residents' requests. Using a travel demand model , MAPC developed a tool to identify where people would be likely to walk or bike if complete streets infrastructure were there to support them.
 
The Local Access Score launched in September  at Moving Together. This tool calculates scores for every road segment in Massachusetts based on how many people would be likely to use it to walk or bike to popular destinations, including neighborhood schools. Users can zoom in on a region, click on road segments, and compare each segment's scores against other roads to see which might have the highest potential to serve as walking or biking routes. The tool also includes a sidewalk gap feature, which allows users to see which roads have high potential to serve pedestrians, yet lack sidewalks.
 
Overall, areas with the highest population tend to have higher scores than less populated areas, but users can control for this by comparing and contrasting roadways within a municipality or subregion. Users with mapping software can also download the data to create their own maps and analyses.
 
MAPC has already used Local Access Score to inform municipal bike and pedestrian plans. They encourage municipal and state officials, regional planners, and advocates to explore the tool and find creative uses for it, such as identifying priority locations for accessibility improvements or snow shoveling.
Spotlight on an advocate
MassMobility  thanks Franny Osman, transportation activist and Acton Selectman,  for submitting this guest article. If  you would like to submit an article or have an idea for a topic,  please contact us.

Dave Ellingson, my colleague on the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) Advisory Board, always seems to have a friendly relationship with the staff of the LRTA. You can read in the June 2014 MassMobility about the time the staff came from Lowell to his rescue when the wheel fell off his chair in Harvard Square. Before one of our meetings this summer, I interviewed Dave in the bus facility on Hale Street in Lowell about his roles as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) representative for the LRTA and as member of the Lowell Commission on Disabilities (COD).
 
One of nine siblings in Nebraska, Dave was born with spina bifida and walked with crutches or a brace for most of his childhood. He had 16 operations before age 16. He was able to walk without crutches for many years, until age 44, when spinal stenosis caused him to start falling; he has used a wheelchair since, and he moved from Chelmsford to downtown Lowell.

Dave describes himself as "a worker bee" and the "downtown go-to person" for COD site visits about complaints received on issues such as a sidewalk upheaval from tree roots or a curb cut that was nicked during snow removal. He brings a positive attitude to his work. Dave encourages people with disabilities to feel empowered and thankful for what they do have and not what they don't have, and to not focus only on their disability. "The wheelchair doesn't define them. Whatever their disability may be, it doesn't define them," Dave says. "And I tell them, it's not just about you. The ADA says equal access, not better treatment."  Dave is an avid reader of mysteries, history books, and motivational books, including one of which he used to buy six copies at a time, to give out to people: Six Attitudes for Winners by Norman Vincent Peale. Dave says, "If you don't believe in something, you fall for anything."  

Dave first met LRTA Administrator Jim Scanlan on a train 12 years ago. Dave told Jim, "Make sure you listen to the drivers." A few months later, Jim recommended Dave as the ADA representative from the community to the LRTA. Eventually, Dave was appointed to the LRTA Board. Dave said his relationship with Jim and the LRTA "has been one of mutual and total respect for each other.  He asks from time to time what my thoughts are concerning the fixed route service and the Road Runner 's performance and what can be done to improve it. I feel he really listens to me when I have suggestions."
Accelerator Fund promotes affordable housing development near transit
Public transportation can be an affordable, efficient way for low-income individuals to access jobs and community activities - but only if they can afford to live near transit. Boston's Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) partners with Community Development Corporations, developers, and other partners to promote prosperous neighborhoods with opportunities in Boston and other Massachusetts communities. Recognizing that development near transit is often more expensive than development in other locations, LISC partnered with the Hyams Foundation and The Boston Foundation to create the Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Accelerator Fund  (ETODAF). ETODAF provides loans to help developers create affordable housing near transit.
 
Since its creation two years ago, ETODAF has funded 11 projects, including locations in Boston, Rockport, and Salem. While most projects are in the early stages of development, the Salem project is under construction; when complete, this development will provide housing for 64 households, close to the commuter rail station. LISC works closely with local partners on each project, and ETODAF is funded in part through a $1 million grant from MassWorks.
 
LISC welcomes organizations to connect with them to learn more about ETODAF and whether it could help your community, as well as other approaches to increasing transit access and transit equity.
Coming up in December
The Kennedy Center of Connecticut is returning to offer their popular Introduction to Travel Training Workshop in Fitchburg December 14-16.  Anyone who currently travel trains or is interested in starting to offer travel training in Massachusetts is invited to register . This workshop is targeted to beginner travel trainers, though travel trainers of all levels of experience are welcome.

Find additional upcoming events on our calendar.
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If you have suggestions for news items or topics to cover in future newsletters, please contact us or submit a guest article. Comments, questions, and feedback are also welcome.

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