On March 26, Northern Berkshire County received word that the North Adams Regional Hospital and its affiliated services would be closing down in two days. This closure meant the loss of the region's largest employer and only hospital. The next closest hospital was located over 20 miles away in Pittsfield, leaving people without transportation in the lurch.

Community organizations mobilized quickly to help patients get to their appointments in Pittsfield. Councils on Aging in Adams, North Adams, and Williamstown sketched out a partnership where each would send a van to Pittsfield once a week for seniors of any of the three towns to ride. They then called BerkshireRides for help developing and implementing this service. At the same time, Adams Community Bank approached BerkshireRides, offering to help fund transportation for area residents to healthcare services in Pittsfield. BerkshireRides reached out to the Elder Services of Berkshire County and the Berkshire Community Action Council (BCAC), both of which were also interested in joining the partnership.

BCAC was already transporting passengers daily from Pittsfield to North Adams, and its van was empty on the return trip from North Adams to Pittsfield. BCAC agreed to fill these empty seats with passengers from North Adams who need medical services in Pittsfield. In the afternoon, BCAC will take these riders back to North Adams on its way to pick up its passengers and bring them home to Pittsfield. The group decided on three stops for the BCAC van, and the three Councils on Aging agreed to do local demand-response feeder trips to get riders to those stops in the morning and back home in the afternoon.

BerkshireRides will screen riders and offer mobility management services to help riders understand and use any other options they may have. For example, some riders may be able to use the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority fixed route bus. Others may need help updating their PT-1 form to qualify for MassHealth transportation to the new location.

The group is starting with a six-month pilot. Service launches on Monday, April 28. To reserve a space on the BCAC shuttle, call BerkshireRides at (413) 664-0300, with at least two business days advance notice.

On March 21, the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) held a breakfast kickoff to inform stakeholders about the formation of a Regional Coordinating Council, as well as the Comprehensive Regional Transit Plan that Regional Transit Authorities are currently doing. GATRA presented on the findings of an unmet needs survey that they did in partnership with the Brockton Area Transit Authority and Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, and they also presented on an analysis of trip requests entered into GATRA's online trip planner Ride Match. Attendees represented a diverse range of stakeholders, including town planners, veteran-serving organizations, employers, and human service agencies, and participants engaged in a lively discussion about the region's needs and opportunities. The first official RCC meeting is scheduled for April 30. Meeting materials from the March 21 meeting are available on GATRA's website.

The North Shore RCC launched on March 25 with a meeting at North Shore Elder Services in Danvers. Stakeholders heard from Mark Whitmore of the North Shore Career Center about the history of coordination on the North Shore, which has had a strong coordination team since 2009. Attendees also discussed and added to the results of preliminary focus groups, which identified a large number of transportation challenges in the region, and then participated in a group activity to help identify which of those challenges to prioritize. 

The first meeting of the Minuteman RCC, located in the Greater Acton and Concord region, took place on April 15. After a presentation and discussion of the Executive Order 530 recommendations and goals, the group identified some challenges unique to their region, including the fact that their area touches up to four different transit authorities (the Lowell, MetroWest, and Montachusett Regional Transit Authorities, as well as the MBTA). Attendees then brainstormed a list of transportation modes currently prevalent in the region as well as modes that could be used, such as bikeshares, pedi-cabs, and even canoes! The group also discussed the need for fluid boundaries for their RCC, as they are at the confluence of many different regions and transportation routes. Other topics of discussion were the data that already exists in the MAGIC transportation study done by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in 2011, and the need to invite elected officials into the process to educate them about the importance of transportation.

While news media attention has focused on the MBTA commuter rail contract, MBTA's RIDE contracts were also recently up for bid. THE RIDE program provides door-to-door ADA paratransit service in 60 cities and towns in and around Boston and is available to eligible people who cannot use the fixed route system (bus, train, or trolley) due to a disability.

Eleven different bids were received from five different bidders. After close scrutiny of the submitted proposals, the MBTA awarded RIDE contracts to the three incumbent bidders: Greater Lynn Senior Services for the North service area, Veterans Transportation for the West service area, and National Express (formerly Joint Venture) for the South service area. All three companies provide transport within the core area, which will be expanded to include Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville, as well as Boston. Officials expect this expansion of the core to greatly reduce transfers. Additionally, Wilmington - once part of the West service area - is now in the North service area for easier access without transfers to Lahey Clinic. The new RIDE service contracts go into effect July 1, 2014 and run through June 30, 2019 with possible two-year extensions.