On October 25, community transportation stakeholders from across Massachusetts gathered in Maynard for the eighth semi-annual meeting since CTAA led a Coordination Institute in 2009. The Crosstown Connect team from Acton and surrounding towns hosted the meeting at Clock Tower Place, an employer partner of their coordination effort.

At the day-long meeting, teams updated each other on their progress since the previous meeting in April. Staff from the Human Service Transportation Office and MassDOT gave an update on Executive Order 530 and the  Statewide Coordinating Council on Community Transportation (SCCCT), and then attendees broke into small groups to discuss roles teams can play in the newly forming Regional Coordinating Committees and best practices in forming and sustaining strong teams. In the afternoon, Crosstown Connect presented on their initiative and how they have used GPS data to identify travel patterns within their region. The day ended with a panel on wheelchair-accessible taxi and livery programs in Massachusetts, with presentations from Michael Muehe of the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Paula George of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, and Jim Nihan of the MBTA.

To learn more about transportation coordination teams in regions around Massachusetts, please contact us.

MassMobility would like to thank Judy L. Shanley, Ph.D., for contributing this guest article. Judy is Director of Student Engagement & Mobility Management for the Easter Seals Transportation Group and is also Co-Director of the new National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM). She will serve as NCMM's liaison to Massachusetts.

The National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM) is a new national technical assistance center, funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). I am Judy Shanley from Easter Seals, one of the NCMM co-directors. Along with co-directors Carolyn Jeskey (Community Transportation Association of America) and Rich Weaver (American Public Transportation Association), we are excited to introduce you to NCMM and work with you.

The mission of NCMM is to facilitate activities that help communities to adopt transportation strategies and mobility options that empower people to live independently and support health, economic vitality, self-sufficiency, and community.

We provide technical assistance through a regional liaison strategy. NCMM staff will serve as liaisons to FTA regions. As the Region 1 Liaison, I look forward to supporting mobility management work in Massachusetts. To learn more or request technical assistance, please contact me.

NCMM offers training, information briefs, and Community Technical Assistance Plans that highlight our technical assistance work. Visit our website at www.nationalcenterformobilitymanagement.org and join the LinkedIn - Partnership for Mobility Management group,subscribe to the NCMM newsletter, and follow us on Twitter at @4mmgmt to keep in touch.

Recently, two small towns in very different parts of Massachusetts - Carlisle to the northwest of Boston, and Sheffield in the southwest corner of the state- convened stakeholders to begin to identify some strategies to make more transportation services available to residents.

Stakeholders in Carlisle met on October 31 to discuss expanding accessible transportation. Although some transportation is available through the Council on Aging (COA) for seniors and people with disabilities, this service is only available from 9AM to 3PM. Residents who want to get to work and social opportunities at regular commuting times or during evenings and weekends have few options. Municipal leaders, including a Selectman and COA staff and board members, sat down with the Lowell Regional Transit Authority and representatives from MassDOT and the HST Office to discuss possible approaches to funding and providing additional transportation services to the town, including a lively discussion about the different types of wheelchair-accessible vehicles available and how best to incorporate them into the town's transportation program.

On November 12, the Sheffield Senior Center hosted a transportation forum in partnership with local clergy. Representatives from the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, Southern Berkshire Elderly Transportation Corporation, the Adams COA, the East Longmeadow COA, and the MassMobility initiative briefly described their programs and then answered some questions posed by the moderator about opportunities to expand services. At the end of the forum, audience members had a chance to ask questions, and they raised issues such as potential to fund expansion through advertising and surveys as a tool to assess need for new services. To close, Reverend Annie Ryder noted that faith communities can help by advocating for funding, holding fundraisers, and identifying people to help with ride coordination and dispatch.

Both towns are now analyzing their options to determine next steps. If you would like to talk about strategies to bring more mobility options to your community or region, we welcome you to contact us.

Easter Seals Project ACTION selected CrossTown Connect as the winner of technical assistance through the Accessible Transportation Technical Support project. CrossTown Connect plans to begin a Transportation Access Coalition, whose goal will be to assist in improving access to public transportation for the participating towns: Acton, Boxborough, Concord, Littleton, Maynard, Stow, and Westford. Stakeholders met in Acton for an initial planning meeting on October 29.

Check Project ACTION or the MassMobility calendar for future opportunities to apply for Accessible Transportation Technical Support awards.

The Massachusetts Rural Transit Assistance Program (MArtap), on behalf of MassDOT, launched the Helping Hand Mini Grant program on November 1, 2013. Grants of up to $1,000 are available to Massachusetts Councils on Aging or Friends of Councils on Aging and transportation providers for equipment or projects designed to update or enhance transit services in rural and small urban areas. To learn more, visit www.martap.org. Applications are due December 13.

On November 6, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing titled "Transportation: A Challenge to Independence for Seniors." Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Transit Administration, National Center on Senior Transportation, and ITN America testified for the committee. Video and transcripts are available online. The Government Accountability Office also submitted a statement for the record.

Last month's MassMobility included a guest article about the success of the Cape Flyer weekend train service between Boston and Cape Cod in summer 2013. Due to this success, the Governor announced on October 29 that the seasonal weekend service will become permanent. In addition, MassDOT will study the feasibility of extending the service year-round.

Aniko Laszlo, Statewide Mobility Manager at MassDOT, blogs monthly on topics related to community transportation in Massachusetts. Check out her current posting and archives to learn about ongoing efforts around the state.

Are you on Twitter? If so, follow us @MassMobility for links to community transportation resources relevant to organizations and agencies here in Massachusetts. If you aren't on Twitter, you can still see our posts online at twitter.com/MassMobility/.

What social media are you using? Let us know where you like to find information and where you like to share information.

Check out our calendar of mobility management events and funding opportunities for Massachusetts.

If you have suggestions for news items or topics to cover in future newsletters, please contact us. Comments, questions, and feedback are also welcome.

Please forward this newsletter widely to others who are interested in mobility management, community transportation, or related topics and encourage them to subscribe to receive future newsletters and publications.