New initiatives in Brookline and Burlington are helping older adults access Lyft and Uber - including riders without smartphones. Both towns are subsidizing eligible residents' rides through GoGoGrandparent (GoGo), a company that books Lyft and Uber rides for callers. GoGo also screens the vehicles and drivers based on riders' unique needs. For example, if rider cannot step up into an SUV, GoGo will book a lower vehicle; if a rider needs assistance, GoGo will alert the driver and rebook if the driver is not interested in going above and beyond.

 

Anyone who wants a ride can call GoGo and use their services for a monthly membership fee of $9.99 and a per-ride cost of 27 cents per minute on top of the cost of the Lyft or Uber ride. But GoGo has also been reaching out to towns and organizations to encourage them to join as "enterprise" partners and subsidize consumers' rides. GoGo's enterprise program received recognition in 2019 when GoGo won a platinum award at the MassChallenge HealthTech accelerator. Towns or organizations that contract with GoGo can determine how much they will subsidize, how much the rider will pay, and whether to implement any restrictions on the number of trips taken, length of trips, hours of service, or geographic area served.

 

Burlington began subsidizing GoGo rides in February, as part of an initiative to transition riders away from the town's fixed-route B-Line and onto on-demand options. After years of service reductions and decreasing ridership, Burlington decided to cease operations of their in-town bus effective December 31. Committed to maintaining mobility for local seniors, adults with disabilities, and low-income individuals despite loss of the bus, the town decided to try subsidizing on-demand rides. They contracted with both Lyft and GoGo and, with funding from a MassDOT Community Transit Grant, began offering the subsidies before taking the bus out of service to help riders transition.

 

The Burlington Council on Aging (COA) oversees the subsidy program. Older adults, adults with disabilities, and riders under 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Line can sign up for subsidized trips on Lyft or GoGo. The rider pays the first dollar, and then the town subsidizes up to $10; if the ride costs over $11, the rider pays the remainder. COA Director Marge McDonald reports that the service is working well for riders: "It's like having the freedom of your own car," she says. "There are no restrictions on when you can ride or where you can ride - lots more freedom." McDonald has been busy helping riders sign up for the programs. If a rider has a smartphone and wants to book their own trips, she helps them learn to use the Lyft app. "It's time-consuming, but important. We want to make sure that everyone who needs a ride has one," she says.

 

The Brookline COA has offered subsidized Lyft rides since September 2019, and added GoGo subsidies this September in an effort to reach older residents who do not use smartphones and who have traditionally relied on the town's taxi vouchers. As taxi companies go out of business in Brookline, the taxi voucher program has become less viable, and the town has been trying to support riders in transitioning to other services. Riders in Brookline can get up to four GoGo rides per month. The rider pays the first $2, and the town subsidizes the next $10. Riders can travel anywhere in Brookline or to designated medical facilities in nearby communities. Maria Foster, TRIPPS Community Outreach Specialist at the Brookline COA, agrees with McDonald that helping older adults transition can be time-intensive: "It's introducing users to a new company and often a totally new way of requesting rides," she explains.