On June 2, staff of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services' Human Service Transportation (HST) Office welcomed Sharna Small-Borsellino as their new director. The HST Office oversees the brokerage which provides transportation for over 38,000 EOHHS consumers in partnership with six regional transit authorities. The HST Office also houses the MassMobility initiative.

On May 15, the Community Health Network Area (CHNA) 15 awarded the first Janice Hanson Award for Outstanding Community Health Initiatives to Doug Halley for his work on CrossTown Connect.  On June 6, Doug, along with the Acton Transportation Advisory Committee, received another award for CrossTown Connect: the Local Officials Human Services Council recognized Doug and the Acton Transportation Advisory Committee for their innovation and commitment to providing accessible and affordable transportation for residents of Acton and the surrounding communities and awarded them the Peter Kirwin Distinguished Service Award.

CrossTown Connect is a regional transportation partnership that counts the towns of Acton, Boxborough, Concord, Littleton, Maynard, Stow, and Westford along with local employers as members.

In late May, the cities of Fall River and New Bedford and the neighboring towns of Dartmouth, Swansea, Somerset, and Westport each agreed to help pay to continue evening service on Southeastern Regional Transit Authority (SRTA) buses that serve their residents. In April 2013, SRTA extended some routes' hours into the evening until approximately 9 PM, which has contributed to increases in ridership.

On June 20, area employers, transportation providers, elected officials, municipal representatives, and others gathered for the 495/MetroWest Partnership annual conference. The Partnership released the results from its "Transportation Nightmares" survey of top priorities for the region.

This year's survey was a follow-up to a similar effort in 2004. Since releasing the first set of transportation nightmares in 2004, the Partnership has made substantial progress on these priorities, including addressing lack of transit by helping create the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority. The 2014 nightmares included a number of problematic intersections, difficulty accessing first and last mile transportation options for employers, and need for additional reverse commute options for employees who live in Boston and work in the 495/MetroWest area.

In addition to the discussion of the survey findings, Dr. Beverly Scott, General Manager of the MBTA, addressed attendees, and five gubernatorial candidates - Charlie Baker, Don Berwick, Martha Coakley, Mark Fisher, and Steve Grossman - each offered brief remarks.

Memorial Day weekend marked the start of the Cape FLYER's second season. That weekend alone, over 1,000 passengers rode the service, a 28% increase from Memorial Day weekend 2013. The Cape FLYER provides weekend rail service between Boston and Hyannis, with stops in Braintree, Middleborough/Lakeville, Wareham Village, and Buzzards Bay and connections to local services from Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority and island ferries. New features introduced this season include the stop in Wareham and discounted fares for seniors and people with disabilities.

MassMobility thanks David Ellingson, LRTA Advisory Board Member and former ADA Advisor to LRTA, for this guest article. If you would like to submit an article or suggest a topic, please contact us.

I was coming down the ramp at Harvard Square to catch the redline when all of a sudden I felt a slight drop to my left side of the chair. Then I heard a thud behind me. I looked back, and about eight feet away was my chair's left wheel! Some very kind gentleman stopped and brought the wheel to me and asked if he might help me. I asked if he could put the wheel back on the axle, and he proceeded to try, but to no avail.

So here I am thinking to myself, what do I do? Call the fire department, call the police department? It occurred to me to call Jim Scanlan, the administrator of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA). He was out, but his administrative assistant Trisha got ahold of him, and he called me right back. He told me that he would send someone to get me. Now I had to see if I could somehow get back upstairs in Harvard Square. I was able to get some nice gentleman to get ahold of the supervisor, and he went and got another MBTA worker, and they took turns lifting the left side of the chair and wheeling me on three wheels to the elevator, which was a long ways from where I was. God bless those two gentlemen! In 35 minutes, my friend Lou, who is the safety supervisor for the LRTA, pulls up and proceeds to somehow lift the chair on three wheels and gets me on the lift and onto the bus. He then puts the wheel back on the chair and away we go!

Aniko Laszlo, Statewide Mobility Manager at MassDOT, blogs monthly on topics related to community transportation in Massachusetts. This month, she welcomes Heather Hume as the new Manager of Paratransit Programs for the MassDOT Rail and Transit Division. Check out Aniko's current posting and archives to learn about ongoing efforts around the state.

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.

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

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