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Welcome to the February 2021 issue of the MassMobility newsletter! This month's issue covers news related to mobility for older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals in Massachusetts. Read on to learn about vaccine transportation for MassHealth members, new Regional Transit Authority pilot services, a student design challenge on accessible transit, and more.
We also highlight available funding and professional development opportunities. If you are looking to learn more about community transportation, check out the upcoming webinars and recordings of recent webinars. Scroll down to learn how to sign your drivers up for training through MArtap, or share your own insights by applying to present at an upcoming MassDOT conference.
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Vaccine transportation for MassHealth members
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On February 17, MassHealth announced that f ree transportation services to and from vaccine appointments are available for any MassHealth member or individual receiving services through the Health Safety Net. If you are enrolled in a Senior Care Options or One Care plan or in a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), you should contact your health plan or PACE provider to request help with transportation. All other MassHealth members and Health Safety Net patients need to get approval from MassHealth in the form of a PT-1 request either through your provider or by calling the MassHealth Customer Service Center at (800) 841-2900, and then you will book your ride with a local transportation broker, who will send a driver to pick you up for your appointment and return you home. Even though people with MassHealth Limited, MassHealth Family Assistance, the Children's Medical Security Plan, or the Health Safety Net usually aren't able to get transportation to medical appointments through MassHealth, they CAN get transportation to COVID-19 vaccine appointments through MassHealth. Learn more.
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Microtransit expands in Massachusetts
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Across Massachusetts, transit authorities have continued experimenting with using microtransit pilots to increase access to mobility, expand service hours, or increase efficiency. Microtransit is on-demand transportation service run by a public transit authority or municipality. Through technology, riders are able to summon trips in the moment. Microtransit is like dial-a-ride but without needing to reserve in advance, and like Uber or Lyft but with a trained professional driver and an accessible vehicle.
On February 1, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) SmartDART microtransit began serving Yarmouth in addition to Barnstable, where it originally launched. To encourage riders to use SmartDART to access the fixed-route system, CCRTA is working to add an overlay of the bus network into the app. CCRTA hopes to continue expanding SmartDART service to additional communities later this year.
On February 14, the Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) expanded their FRTA Access microtransit to include weekend service. Riders can summon trips through a smartphone app or through a web portal. Prior to this pilot, FRTA offered no weekend service on any of its routes. FRTA plans to collect data on weekend ridership during the pilot in hopes of being able to provide weekend bus service in the future.
On February 15, the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) launched its first microtransit pilot: CATCH Connect. Replacing MWRTA's Route 8, CATCH Connect serves Wellesley, with connections to MBTA Green Line stops, a local hospital, and the Natick Community Center. MWRTA is working closely with representatives within Wellesley to continuously improve the CATCH Connect service, and plans to expand the service into other towns and cities within the MWRTA service area in the near future.
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Berkshire County explores potential for regional TMA
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A new study is the latest tool that stakeholders in the Berkshires are using in their quest to fill gaps in the transportation network. The study explores the feasibility of starting a Transportation Management Association (TMA) in the county to supplement the region's existing mobility options. TMAs are public/private partnerships where one entity coordinates transportation services for a group of employers and community partners. The idea of a Berkshire County TMA first gained traction in 2017 when state Senator Adam Hinds convened stakeholders to think creatively about overcoming transportation barriers. It became a priority when transportation emerged as a cross-cutting challenge affecting all industries in the region in 1Berkshire's 2019 Berkshire Blueprint2.0 report. A small working group consisting of 1Berkshire, the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, and some community health programs determined that a TMA was worth further exploration and commissioned a feasibility study to take place in early 2020. Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, the study gathered input from stakeholder organizations and community residents as well as rural TMAs in other parts of the country. Published in July, the resulting feasibility study found that the idea of a TMA had merit and made recommendations for how a TMA could be structured to build on existing resources in the County. However, the study also noted that the Berkshire TMA would be unique in that most TMAs cover more urbanized areas and have a smaller geographic scope. Currently, 1Berkshire and partners are working to explore opportunities to use technology to leverage existing transportation assets in Berkshire County. They are also working to expand their coalition.
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CATA pilots commuter bus service
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In January, the Cape Ann Transportation Authority (CATA) saw an opportunity to use existing capacity to meet riders' needs. Commuters from Gloucester and Rockport were asking for help accessing an early morning commuter rail train in Beverly. CATA operates a daily circulator around the City of Beverly. Each morning, Monday through Saturday, a driver picks up the circulator vehicle at CATA's Garage in Gloucester, drives to Beverly, and returns to Gloucester at the end of the day. Starting in late January, CATA opened these morning and evening trips between Gloucester and Beverly to passengers through a weekday pilot commuter bus service. The circulator driver now starts about an hour earlier and picks riders up in Rockport and Gloucester before driving down to Beverly, dropping passengers at the train, driving the Beverly Shuttle for the day, picking passengers up at the train, and driving back to Rockport and Gloucester for the night. "We heard from our riders that this would be helpful. Since CATA provides a circulator service to the City of Beverly, these trips to and from Beverly Commuter Rail Station fit into our schedule nicely," explains Felicia Webb, CATA Administrator. "We are glad to be able to help out."
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Students explore accessible design for transit
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On January 28, three Boston University (BU) student teams presented their final pitches as part of the Transit Design Challenge co-sponsored by INNOVATE@ BU (BU's innovation center) and the Massachusetts Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired (MABVI). The Challenge, which launched in October 2019, asked students to design a solution that would improve the public transportation experience of an older adult with vision loss. Students were matched with mentors and connected with community members to make sure their proposal responded to a real need that would actually improve a user's experience. The judges selected BU student Sarah Hillesheim as the winner for her Better Bus Stops proposal. She plans to use the $5000 prize to continue working on her idea.
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Quaboag Connector wins regional and national grants
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Three new grants will further the work that community agencies, municipalities, and other partners are doing to increase mobility in the rural Quaboag Valley located between Worcester and Springfield. Since 2017, the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation (QVCDC) has collaborated with the Town of Ware and other partners to operate the Quaboag Connector - a demand-response service for older adults, people with disabilities, and the general public. In 2019, the Connector was selected for a Synergy Initiative planning grant from The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts to explore opportunities to expand transportation as a social determinant of health for the region in a way that can be scalable and sustainable. In December, The Health Foundation announced a second year of funding for the Connector to support a pilot year to test the ideas developed during the planning grant. In response to community input solicited through a Design Thinking process, the Connector plans to improve customer service through a scheduling app and an enhanced call center, as well as pilot a fixed-route shuttle to give riders the option to make same-day trips.
In addition to support from the regional foundation, the Quaboag Connector was recently selected for two national grants. A Ready to Launch grant from the National Center for Mobility Management will allow the Connector to engage in pre-planning activities before launching the shuttle pilot, as well as provide some support during the pilot. An Arts and Transportation Rapid Response grant from SmartGrowth America will fund a local artist to partner with the Connector to use art to support launch of the new shuttle service and communicate COVID safety messages to riders.
"We are honored and excited to have been selected for these grants," says Sheila Cuddy, Executive Director of QVCDC. "In our communities, access to transportation means access to opportunity - to jobs, to education, to health - and we are grateful to these funders for supporting our work to expand rural transportation in Massachusetts."
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The AARP Community Challenge offers small grants to nonprofits and government entities to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages, including transportation and mobility projects. Applications are due April 14.Applications for the final round of MassDOT's Shared Winter Streets and Spaces grant funding are due March 5. Cities, towns, and transit authorities are eligible to apply for grants to improve plazas, sidewalks, curbs, streets, parking areas, and other public spaces in support of public health, safe mobility, and renewed commerce. Bonus points are available for projects that take an age-friendly approach. MassDOT announced the latest round of awards in early February.
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Propose a conference session
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Driver Training on Providing Dementia-Friendly Transportation to Passengers Living with Dementia
- MCOA, MassMobility, and the Alzheimer's Association are pleased to announce a free, virtual training session for drivers about how to assist passengers who are living with dementia
- Wednesday, March 3 from 2-3:30pm OR Tuesday, March 9 from 10-11:30am (For your convenience, we are offering this session at two different times. Register for whichever better fits your schedule.)
- Register at tinyurl.com/drivers-dementia-March2021
- Please contact Patty Sullivan at [email protected] as soon as possible if reasonable accommodations are needed
On-Demand Community Transportation: Three Examples from Maine and Massachusetts
- Tuesday, April 13, 10-11:30am
- Join the Moving Maine Network and MassMobility for a webinar featuring a healthcare provider, a Senior Center, and a transit authority that have each come up with a different way to provide on-demand mobility
- Learn more and register
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National webinars feature presenters from Massachusetts
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A National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM) webinar on February 4 included Dr. Sarah McAdoo of the University of Massachusetts Medical School at Baystate on a panel discussing transportation to support vaccine efforts.
The National Aging and Disability Transportation Center (NADTC) featured presenters from Massaschusetts in two recent webinars on the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. The webinar targeted to direct recipients featured Jenna Henning from MassDOT, and the webinar targeted to subrecipients featured Sheila Cuddy from the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation.
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MassDOT webinar highlights funding to expand mobility
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On January 26, MassDOT and MassMobility collaborated on a webinar highlighting the Community Transit Grant Program (CTGP), MassDOT's annual funding stream for efforts to expand mobility for older adults and people with disabilities. Since the application opens in the spring, winter is a great time to start thinking about projects and partners. After a brief overview of who is eligible to apply and what types of projects are eligible, the webinar featured three initiatives that have received CTGP funding in the past. Three past grantees presented on their projects, offering a view of the diverse types of projects eligible for funding: the Blue Hills Regional Coordinating Council received a planning grant, the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority developed videos to support their travel instruction program and promote their transit services, and the Quaboag Connector received funds to support operations of their transportation service. These three projects exemplified a number of best practices, such as responding to unmet transportation needs, coordinating with partners across sectors, including riders in project planning, and prioritizing transportation for older adults and people with disabilities while also including other groups and the general public when space allows. For more information, visit the CTGP webpage or contact Jenna Henning.
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COVID-19 and community transportation
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We want to thank all our readers who are on the front lines helping older adults, people with disabilities, and essential workers. We also wish to send a special thank you to all drivers!
For up-to-date information about a particular transportation service, please contact the transportation provider directly.
General information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health:
Information from other Massachusetts agencies:
National resources related to transportation and COVID-19:
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Follow us on Twitter
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Are you on Twitter? If so, follow us @MassMobility for links to community transportation resources relevant to organizations and agencies here in Massachusetts. If you aren't on Twitter, you can still see our posts online at twitter.com/MassMobility/.
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We want to know your stories
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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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Please share this newsletter
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Please forward this newsletter widely to others who are interested in mobility management, community transportation, or related topics and encourage them to subscribe to receive future newsletters and publications.
You can also read past issues of all MassMobility newsletters.
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