A new intercity route connecting Amherst and Worcester launched on September 16. The PVTA B79 is a partnership between the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) and the Quaboag Connector, with the Quaboag Connector serving as the operator for the route and UMass Transit providing dispatch. Wrapped in a local landscape image, the bus makes three round trips a day and operates Thursday through Monday, including weekend service. The bus stops once in each town it passes through, with two stops each in Belchertown and Amherst, and riders can connect to the MBTA commuter rail in Worcester.

“Not only does this route connect Amherst and Worcester, but it also connects the Quaboag Valley to Amherst and the UMass campus, and closes a service loop for PVTA. Riders can now get between Amherst and Ware in only 30 minutes,” highlights Paul Burns, Director of Transit Operations for PVTA. “The more connections we have, the better off we are.” Riders looking for local rides within the WRTA service area should use local WRTA services instead, as the stops in Leicester, Spencer, and East Brookfield are drop-off only eastbound and pick-up only westbound.

The pilot emerged from collaboration between PVTA and the Quaboag Connector. After talking with the Quaboag Connector about their vision of a route connecting Belchertown and Spencer, PVTA saw that MassDOT was offering grant funding to pilot new intercity routes. One of the routes eligible for the MassDOT funding ran between Northampton and Worcester along Route 9 – which included and expanded on the Belchertown to Spencer leg. With the Quaboag Connector as a partner, PVTA applied for and received a two-year grant from MassDOT to pilot the service. Since PVTA already offers service between Northampton and Amherst, they decided to start the intercity route in Amherst to reduce duplication.

PVTA has promoted the new route on their website, through social media, and through local media and offered free fares for the first four weeks of service. They welcome rider feedback and hope to hold rider forums later this winter.

Transportation is an important part of the curriculum for transition students in Westfield. Transition services offer students with disabilities age 18-22 opportunities to prepare for life after the school system through individualized curricula that emphasize practicing social skills, interacting in community spaces such as stores, and preparing for employment. Westfield’s program is located in a community setting, conveniently across the street from the Westfield Center PVTA bus stop. Transition Specialist Sherry Elander and her team introduce students to local transportation options at a pace tailored to each student. According to Elander, "It is extremely important to assist these students as they transition from school-based to community services, and transportation is the key to making this happen." Elander reports that she has seen a rise in the students' independence and interest in exploring not only their community, but surrounding communites as well. “Working closely with the families throughout this journey is extremely important, as for some students, this is their first time using transportation other than a school bus or a parent’s car,” she explains.

Elander recently invited MassMobility to visit the site to hear students’ transportation stories directly. One student shared that she enjoys the school bus and is now learning to ride the public bus with her friends. Many students use the PVTA paratransit service and have taken the fixed-route bus on group excursions with the class. Some students have done travel training through PVTA to learn to ride the bus independently. Students shared their opinions and experiences about transportation. Two students emphasized the social nature of transportation: one enjoys riding the bus with her friend, while another enjoys meeting other paratransit customers in shared rides. A third student highlighted that riding the bus is very affordable compared to other options. Students also shared challenges they have encountered using transit. A volunteer recounted a time when she accidentally got on the wrong bus to meet a student, and had to ride to the end of the route to transfer back to the bus she originally wanted. When students discussed the challenge of sometimes having to wait for a paratransit ride to appear, one student suggested exercising as a good way to pass the time while waiting.

One student is particularly enthusiastic about transportation. In his free time, he works on transportation planning, drafting a re-routing of the PVTA system and designing a low-cost door-to-door paratransit livery service to take people with disabilities to the airport. He is working on learning to ride the Peter Pan system in hopes of one day riding all the way to Cape Cod. “His family, my team, and I support him in his dreams, which we believe will come to fruition one day,” Elander says.

Over the summer, transition students in Winchester participating in a five-week, post-grad summer program put their transit etiquette skills to use in an internship with WinCam, Winchester’s community access television station. The students created a short video highlighting dos and don’ts for riding public transit, using humorous, short sketches to make their points.

Travel training is an important part of Winchester’s transition curriculum – and a popular one. According to Special Education Teacher Jared Huber, “The students love travel training – taking the T and the bus and the commuter rail.” After pausing travel training due to the pandemic, Huber and his colleagues knew it would be important for returning students to get a refresher on transit, and some new students are just starting to learn how to ride. Huber has powerpoint slides that cover key transit etiquette lessons that he regularly uses with students. For the summer internship, he let each student choose one lesson and then gave them free range to present it in their own way. Students shared the resulting video with their parents, the school has shown it, and WinCam may show it on local cable access television.

“If you’re interested in offering travel training, take the jump!” says Huber. “The young adults love doing it. It’s such a good outing because it helps foster independence and they get practice with money, with traveling, with community navigation – so many key skills.”

September was Bay State Bike Month in Massachusetts, and this year’s event listings included opportunities to try adaptive biking and adaptive mountain biking on Cape Cod. These events were part of Spaulding Adaptive Sports Center’s regular offerings, which are open to the general public with disabilities as well as Spaulding patients. Adaptive cycling is one of many adaptive sports that Spaulding offers.

Spaulding’s adaptive cycling is available in Boston and on the North Shore as well as on Cape Cod. Many participants are ages 50 and older, although in an average year they work with riders from age six to 96. Participants include people with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, amputations, Parkinson’s, visual impairments, and Autism, as well as people recovering from surgery or a stroke. Physical, occupational, and recreational therapists staff each session, and they have a wide range of bikes to meet individuals’ needs, including upright and lower recumbent bikes, leg-powered and hand-powered bikes, and bikes that can be connected together into a tandem. Staff tailor the bikes for each participant, such as adding cushions for people with sensitive skin or Velcro wraps for people who need extra grip support, and also adapt the bikes over time as participants’ needs change.

Sessions last 90 minutes and cost $20. New participants begin with an intake process so staff can get to know them, understand what type of supports they need, and prepare a bike for them. One or two staff accompany each rider on their ride. Some riders participate as part of a recovery process or to make progress on a physical therapy goal, while for others the rides are recreational. Riders who can ride 24 miles can sign up for a special season-end ride on Martha’s Vineyard every October.

Amrith Fernandes Prabhu, a regular participant in Boston and North Shore sessions, explained that when she began, she needed the upright hand cycle, but as she biked more and grew stronger, she was able to transition to the lower recumbent bike, which goes faster: “I didn't even know I was capable of riding the lower recumbent until they suggested that I might be strong enough to do so, and it was really a combination of my working on strengthening as well as the staffs' encouragement that has propelled me forward. Earlier this summer, I couldn't have biked more than five or six miles at a stretch, but I recently completed a 25-mile ride in just a few hours. The opportunity that Spaulding provides really helps me feel like I've accomplished something,” she says.

For those who get serious about cycling, Spaulding maintains a list of grant opportunities and provides a letter of support to riders applying for funding to purchase their own adaptive bike. For riders biking in traffic, Keja MacEwan, Network Coordinator for Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers, notes that dedicated bike paths and separated bike lanes can be particularly helpful for riders who use recumbent bikes, which are lower and thus may be out of the direct view of drivers. Spaulding also recommends that riders put bright orange flags on their bikes to increase their visibility. Riders who purchase their own bikes are still welcome to participate in Spaulding's sessions: "Even people who buy a bike sometimes come back here for the social aspect," shares Kathleen Salas, who oversees Spaulding's Boston and North Shore cycling.

As a sister program to the Massachusetts Rural Transit Assistance Program (MArtap), the new Massachusetts Urban Transit Assistance Program (MAurbantap) will provide training and resources to urban transportation providers that operate in the Greater Boston, Worcester, and Springfield areas. Entities eligible for the Community Transit Grant Program are able to attend, including Regional Transit Authorities, private nonprofit organizations, and municipalities serving mobility needs of older adults and individuals with disabilities. Learn more.

MArtap is beginning to transition eligible urban agencies to the MAurbantap program. If you are redirected to the urban program and find that an upcoming course offered through MArtap is more convenient than that offered by MAurbantap (or vice versa), please reach out to either program to inquire about attending. MassDOT will handle these requests on a case-by-case basis.

A new Non-Emergency Human Service Transportation Task Force will kick off in November. Learn more.

Registration opens November 1 for the spring 2022 semester Online Professional Certificate in Organizing and Managing Senior Transportation Options. Join Helen Kerschner, Director, Volunteer Transportation, Shepherd’s Centers of America and Nina Silverstein, Professor, Gerontology Department, UMass Boston in their ninth year of offering a professional certificate to people working in the fields of transportation and aging through the Gerontology Institute and the College of Advancing and Professional Studies at UMass Boston. This fully online course has both asynchronous modules and biweekly synchronous virtual classroom sessions on Tuesday nights. Learn more and register. A few partial scholarships are available - contact Nina Silverstein for more information.

Free, virtual training for drivers on assisting passengers with dementia from the Alzheimer's Association and MCOA. Register for a November 17 session from 2-3:30pm OR a December 8 evening session from 6-7pm (they cover the same material, so choose the one that best fits your schedule). Send requests for reasonable accommodations to patty@mcoaonline.com at least two weeks before the session.

The National Aging and Disability Transportation Center and Easterseals Project Action Consulting are hiring a Training and Technical Assistance Project Coordinator.

The National Center for Mobility Management is hiring a Technical Assistance Specialist II.

The Executive Office of Elder Affairs is hiring a Policy Manager and a Research Analyst.

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 these opportunities.

Many transit authorities are also hiring drivers. Find your transit authority.

For up-to-date information about a particular transportation service, please contact the transportation provider directly. And remember, if you're taking a trip, bring a mask! Masks are still mandatory on public and private transportation services.

Transportation and vaccine access in Massachusetts:

Vaccine and vaccine outreach information:

Reopening guidance:

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