Building on over ten years of youth-led work supporting Mattapan’s residents in accessing exercise and joy through biking, the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition (MFFC) expanded its transportation efforts over the past year by co-hosting a series of community-oriented conversations on a range of transportation issues. Focused on those who live in the Mattapan, Dorchester, Roxbury, and Hyde Park areas of Boston as well as those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC), the “T-Talks” explored how transportation relates to pressing issues like racism, climate change, displacement, and health.

The T-Talks were the idea of MFFC’s Executive Director, Shavel’le Olivier. Eleven years ago, as a youth participant in MFFC’s programming, Olivier was one of the founders of MFFC’s annual bike event. Over the years, she became increasingly interested in transportation advocacy, and as she got more involved in the transportation advocacy scene in Boston, she noticed a disconnect. On the one hand, the City of Boston, MassDOT, and professional transportation advocates were telling her they were having a hard time engaging community members in Mattapan, Roxbury, Dorchester, and Hyde Park. Yet Olivier was hearing a lot about transportation from her neighbors and from the community members participating in MFFC’s programming, who frequently brought up questions and concerns about traffic, climate change, and displacement. Olivier was uncomfortable watching decision-makers make decisions when the people affected were not in the room, and so she decided to try her own hand at community engagement around transportation issues. In October, MFFC collaborated with Powerful Pathways and the Outdoors Urban Association to launch the T-Talks.

Olivier and the other organizers structured the T-Talks around the issues community members were asking about and thinking about. They made sure to feature presenters who came from the community or had a shared lived experience, and who could clearly explain how the concepts they were talking about related to community members’ lives. The goal was to provide the information community members were looking for, and by doing so educate them about the importance of transportation, street changes, and the connection to their own lives so when they entered formal government community meetings, they would feel empowered, informed, and confident to speak.

“Transportation is a public health issue and intersects a lot with other social determinants of health. In my perspective, it’s not as easy to solve because it costs a lot of money, and there’s a lot of terminology that can be confusing as well as policy changes that need to be made,” Olivier explains. The T-Talks have been even more successful than Olivier originally expected, some with over 90 attendees. “We did what we intended to do. We created a space for communities of color and BIPOC individuals to talk about these issues together, and we’ve shown what community engagement can look like,” she says. The final webinar of this season aired June 23, and they are planning another series starting in the fall. Visit MFFC's website for recordings, slides, and materials.

After years of planning, Wheels for Wellness, a volunteer driver program serving all of Berkshire County, offered its first ride on June 1. A collaborative effort among the City of Pittsfield RSVP program (RSVP), Berkshire Community Action Council (BCAC), Berkshire Interfaith Organizing (BIO), Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative, Community Health Programs, and Berkshire Health Systems, Wheels for Wellness was originally set to launch in April 2020. Partnering agencies delayed their timeline due to the pandemic but maintained contact through bimonthly check-ins, and in March 2021 – with an eye toward helping county residents access vaccine appointments – determined they were ready to plan for launch. They recruited 20 drivers, conducted outreach to riders, and in their first three weeks offered nearly 40 rides.

The idea of Wheels to Wellness originally emerged from a shared desire among BCAC, BIO, and the health systems to address the transportation barriers experienced by rural residents in Berkshire County. Inspired by a South County volunteer driver program run by Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires, they decided to pursue a volunteer transportation model and brought in RSVP, which already offered a volunteer driver program within the City of Pittsfield. RSVP agreed to administer the day-to-day operations, BCAC offered to play the role of fiscal sponsor for any donations or grants received, and BIO and the healthcare partners agreed to assist with recruiting volunteers, outreach to riders, and fundraising. “Each partner was willing to take on the role they needed to play to make this work, and every partner has been committed and engaged,” highlights Jeff Lowenstein, Director of Community Planning at BCAC.

In order to address as many transportation barriers as possible, Wheels to Wellness has very few eligibility or trip restrictions. Because RSVP is a program for older adult volunteers, volunteer drivers must be between ages 55 and 79. Volunteers drive their own cars, must show that they have insurance and a clean driving record, and must be fully immunized against COVID-19. Anyone age 18 or older can request a ride. Understanding that demand for rides might outstrip supply of drivers, the partners developed a plan for prioritizing trips, with vaccine appointments at the top, followed by other medical appointments, access to social services, and then other destinations more broadly related to wellbeing. “This program does a really good job of making use of our county’s assets. In the Berkshires, we tend to focus on what we don’t have, but what we do have is an older population, a very high rate of car ownership, and a very strong regional culture around looking out for each other,” says Lowenstein. Next steps include a billboard campaign to recruit additional riders, and an ongoing focus on recruiting more drivers.

On June 24, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services issued updated COVID-19 guidance documents for demand-response (PT-1) and program-based trips.

As of July 1, the new Human Service Transportation (HST) contract will be in effect for MassHealth PT-1 trips as well as program-based transportation for participating state agencies. For more information, visit www.mass.gov/hstnews.

GoGo, the company that offers older adults and other riders a way to book an Uber or Lyft trip by calling a phone number instead of using a smartphone app, is encouraging Massachusetts riders to take trips this summer. Callers who mention the promo code GoFreeMA21 and put down a $25 deposit will receive one free trip, up to a $25 value. The deposit funds remain in the rider’s account to pay for future trips, such as the return trip home. Riders who wish to continue using GoGo’s services will also be charged a monthly membership fee after their first 30 days.

GoGo’s founder Justin Boogaard created the company in response to his own grandmother’s request for the phone number for Uber. In addition to booking trips, GoGo does some screening, such as canceling and rebooking if the vehicle will not work for a rider or if the driver does not agree to provide specific assistance requested by the rider, as well as some trip monitoring. When using GoGo, riders pay the full cost of the Uber or Lyft ride plus an additional 27 cents per minute and monthly membership fee. GoGo is available anywhere that Uber or Lyft operates, and the promo code is good for any Massachusetts rider through September 20.

Learn more about related mobility options through MassMobility’s on-demand community transportation webpage, and find additional transportation options in your community on Ride Match.

Many transportation companies that provide human service trips are hiring. If you are interested in applying to drive or serve as a monitor to help consumers access key health and social services, check out this list of some participating companies and search Ride Match for names and contact information for additional transportation providers in your area.

The MBTA has issued an RFP for assistance developing an outreach plan and creating new design ideas for printed and electronic training products to better serve older adults and people with disabilities who speak languages other than English, are members of minority groups, and/or do not use the Internet. To apply, respond to the RFP by July 15.

The Massachusetts Public Health Association is hiring a Part-Time Central and Western Massachusetts Campaign Coordinator to work on a Transit Justice & Stable Neighborhoods campaign.

The Town of Leicester is hiring a part-time Senior Center van driver.

The Barr Foundation is seeking a Program Officer for Mobility.

For up-to-date information about a particular transportation service, please contact the transportation provider directly. Please keep in mind that face coverings are still mandatory on public and private transportation systems.

Transportation and vaccine access:

Vaccine and vaccine outreach information:

Information from state health and human services agencies:

National resources related to transportation and COVID-19:

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