Baker-Polito Administration Announces Community Transit Grant Program Awards
“We are pleased to announce this transit grant funding which provides requested funding to meet the needs identified by local officials, private operators and non-profit leaders in their communities,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “The grant awards have many benefits, including increasing local public transportation options and reducing traffic congestion by getting people out of cars and onto vans or buses.”
“The Community Transit Grant Program is a vital part of the Commonwealth’s efforts to accommodate and maintain the independence of people with disabilities and senior citizens,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “We are pleased to support organizations and municipalities in their efforts to help people stay active and engaged in their communities across the Commonwealth.”
Today, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) held a photo opportunity today to celebrate the Community Transit Grant Program’s funding award given to the South Shore Community Action Council (SSCAC) in Plymouth. The SSCAC received seven transit vans in Fiscal Year 2018 that are now being used to provide para-transit transportation services for seniors and individuals with disabilities who live in communities in Plymouth, Bristol, and Suffolk Counties. In Fiscal Year 2019, they have been awarded funding for an additional seven transit vans and $45,000 that will be used for operating expenses.
The Fiscal 2019 Community Transit Grant Program received 72 applications for funding and the program is awarding funding to 19 entities for 25 operating and mobility management projects. Award recipients include Regional Transit Authorities, municipalities, Councils on Aging, and eligible nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts. In addition, the funding provides for the purchase of 144 vehicles by 28 local and regional organizations.
The Community Transit Grant Program distributes both Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5310: Enhanced Mobility of Seniors & Individuals with Disabilities funds and State Mobility Assistance Program funds. The FTA Section 5310 grant program provides funding to assist with the purchase of capital equipment, mobility management, and operational costs in order to meet the mobility needs of senior citizens and individuals with disabilities of any age. State Mobility Assistance Program (MAP) funds are used to assist in the provision of transportation services to seniors and persons with disabilities exclusively through the purchase of eligible vehicles.
A complete list of successful grantees is below:
Organization |
# of Vehicles Awarded |
Associates for Human Services, Inc. | 1 |
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority | 7 |
Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority | 17 |
City of Beverly | 1 |
City of New Bedford | 1 |
Family Service Association | 1 |
GAAMHA, Inc. | 3 |
Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority | 12 |
Greater Lynn Senior Services | 1 |
HealthCare Options, Inc. | 2 |
Lowell Regional Transit Authority | 6 |
M.O. L.I.F.E., Inc. | 1 |
MetroWest Regional Transit Authority | 24 |
Montachusett Regional Transit Authority | 8 |
Norwell Council on Aging | 1 |
People, Incorporated | 1 |
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority | 18 |
Project Independence Services, Inc. | 1 |
SCM Community Transportation, Inc. | 3 |
Shrewsbury Council on Aging | 1 |
South Shore Community Action Council, Inc. | 7 |
Springfield Jewish Community Center | 1 |
Sunshine Village | 2 |
The Arc of Opportunity in No. Central Mass | 2 |
Viability, Inc. | 10 |
Weston Council on Aging | 1 |
Winthrop Council on Aging | 1 |
Worcester Regional Transit Authority | 10 |
TOTAL | 144 |
Organization | Project Description | Award |
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority | Funding for salaries and materials to support BRTA’s travel training program. | $9,960 |
Brockton Area Transit Authority | Operating Assistance to continue to provide Flex service to the town of Rockland. | $50,000 |
Brockton Area Transit Authority | Operating Assistance to continue to provide Avon-Stoughton Service. | $26,000 |
Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority | Funds to create a training library for COAs, HST, and CCRTA. | $4,000 |
City of Boston | City of Boston is currently procuring improved dispatching technology using CTGP funds awarded last year. This year’s award will facilitate implementation of the technology and successfully complete the project. | $50,000 |
Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority | Expansion of the successful C.A.R. pilot program to Plymouth. The C.A.R. program provides Uber trips for senior citizens & persons with disabilities during later evening hours & Sundays when local public transit service is unavailable. | $40,000 |
Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority | Med Wheels offers long-distance demand-response transportation to medical appointments for people living with disabilities and/or aged 60 or older. | $42,000 |
Greater Lynn Senior Services, Inc. | Funding for travel trainers that support consumers’ connection to, and use of, a wide range of mobility options; and community-focused driver safety, modification, and cessation supports. | $255,647 |
Hilltown Community Development Corporation | Planning funds to study expanding Hilltown CDC service coverage to adjacent towns, expand service hours and availability, and expand vehicles in program by developing a supplemental medical ride driver program. | $17,258 |
Hilltown Community Development Corporation | The Hilltown Driver Pool will supplement the use of the FRTA 12-passenger Demand Response van for medical rides as needed. It will combine several COA volunteer driver programs and provide a central dispatch, driver vetting and training and administrative support. Drivers will use their personal vehicles and be reimbursed for expenses. The service is designed to address existing gaps in service and create cost savings with use of smaller vehicles. | $15,623 |
Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority | Funding to produce and distribute a video to educate seniors and individuals with disabilities about using traditional fixed route transit. | $24,000 |
MetroWest Regional Transit Authority | Funding for MWRTA travel training program staff salaries. | $80,000 |
Mystic Valley Elder Services, Inc. | The Connect a Ride Alliance Program provides transportation services to eleven communities north of Boston. MVES employs two full time transportation coordinators who are responsible for administering a transportation network and rider program for elders and individuals living with disabilities. This includes managing referrals, and booking rides, maintaining a transportation vendor inventory, and a cost effective human services transportation system. | $151,800 |
Northern Essex Elder Transportation | Volunteer driver reimbursement program for transportation of elderly individuals. | $3,000 |
Old Colony Planning Council | The OCPC provides mileage reimbursement to volunteer drivers at the federally approved mileage rate. | $32,000 |
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority | Operating funds to support the transition of paratransit service provision from PVTA to COAs in order to reduce cost of service and relieve strain on PVTA’s operating budget. | $80,822 |
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority | Funding for PVTA travel training program staff salaries. | $71,251 |
Shrewsbury Council on Aging | Continued funding for Northboro-Westboro Service. | $28,000 |
South Shore Community Action Council, Inc. | Operating assistance for SSCAC transportation program for seniors and persons with disabilities. | $45,000 |
Springfield Partners for Community Action | Operating funds to support the transportation of elderly disabled veterans across the Springfield metro area. | $75,000 |
Town of Acton | Expansion of the 4-town CrosstownConnect shared dispatch partnership to Carlisle, Concord and Sudbury. | $75,000 |
Town of Ware | Operation of rural nine town regional transportation service called the Quaboag Connector. | $82,350 |
Worcester Regional Transit Authority | Demand response service offered to people with disabilities and people age 60+ traveling from Holden to Worcester and return. This service operates in the early morning before the Holden COA paratransit service is on the road and in the afternoon after they are off the road. | $12,000 |
Worcester Regional Transit Authority | SCM Elderbus service for people living in one of the 22 communities and provides service for trips to Worcester, focusing on medical trips. Without this service, riders would have to go to Worcester in the morning and stay in Worcester many hours before being brought back home in the afternoon. | $15,000 |
Worcester Regional Transit Authority | ReadyBus service provides a much needed transportation service focusing on people with disabilities and people age 60 and over who live and work in the towns of Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge and Webster. | $45,000 |
TOTAL | $1,330,711 |
Courtesy of MassDOT Blog