Evening hours allow local seniors to get home from late afternoon doctors' appointments, to enjoy a late lunch, to attend evening gatherings at the Senior Center, or to enroll in evening classes at Salem State. Seniors also appreciate the Saturday service. On a recent Saturday, residents used the van to go to lunch with a friend, catch up on grocery shopping, and practice piano. Evening and weekend trips follow the same guidelines as trips during regular business hours, except they do not go out of town.

 

Salem first began considering offering evening service in response to feedback at community meetings. The City then gathered input through four public meetings specifically about the proposal to extend service. COA staff partnered with Salem for All Ages, Mass in Motion, and other partners to design a plan. They considered a variety of different approaches and ultimately decided to pilot an expansion of existing service. They found funding to pilot the service through the end of the fiscal year. After the initial pilot, City Council voted to fund the full cost of service expansion in the City budget. "The Mayor and City Council were very supportive because we demonstrated the need first," explains Fred Norton, Transportation Coordinator at the Salem COA.