Sudbury Council on Aging presses town leaders to fund transportation programs as contracts near June expiry

Members of the Council on Aging (COA) and the town transportation committee warned at the March 10 meeting that several local transportation services for Sudbury residents face interruption when current contracts expire in June unless the Select Board and Finance Committee designate funding.

The COA’s transportation update outlined the town’s portfolio of services — Go Sudbury (a van), an Uber/taxi voucher program, CATCH Connect (local on-demand service), a hospital shuttle serving the Longwood and Massachusetts General Hospital areas, and shared arrangements with area regional authorities (MWRTA/WRTA). A committee member said the dispatch service the town uses recently doubled in cost, from about $9,000 to roughly $18,000, and that the Uber and taxi contracts expire in June.

Why it matters: Committee members said the services provide rides for routine medical care, hospital visits, shopping and social activities, and allow many older or mobility-limited residents to age in place. Council on Aging participants and transportation volunteers flagged the programs as a safety and access issue for people who cannot drive or who have temporary mobility limits.

Discussion and evidence

- Scope of services: The committee report detailed a mix of town-provided and contracted options: a van (Go Sudbury), paid taxi/Uber vouchers (limited rides per month), CATCH Connect for within-town trips, and a hospital shuttle that aggregates Sudbury and Wayland riders and can serve the Longwood Medical Area and MGH stops when requested. The taxi program and hospital shuttle are used primarily for medical trips, the COA said.

- Cost pressures and contracts: Committee members reported that the town’s dispatch provider doubled its fee and that multiple vendor contracts (Uber/taxi and other service contracts) are due to end in June. The committee noted there are only a few months to decide whether to renew contracts, seek replacements, or reconfigure services.

- Community input: The town’s recent FlashVote survey drew about 740 responses. Janie Dretler (Select Board) noted the FlashVote tool includes demographic toggles on desktop that allow analysis by age and precinct; she also reminded attendees that the town manager will hold office hours on Wednesday, March 19 at 2 p.m. in the Flynn Building (Second Floor, Silver Room), a forum participants said could be used to raise funding questions directly with town leadership.

- Funding options and constraints: Committee members and COA participants discussed grant-writing efforts, ARPA funds previously used, and the difficulty of adding recurring staff or costs into a largely fixed, zero‑based municipal budget. Several speakers said grant funding has been used to seed programs but is not a sustainable long-term funding source.

Action taken

During the COA meeting, a motion was made and seconded for the COA to send a statement to the Select Board and the Finance Committee asking that they jointly examine how to continue funding the town’s transportation programs beyond the June contract expirations and to report back on options. A liaison volunteered to relay that message to the Select Board during her liaison report. (The COA documented the motion and a second; the record shows discussion and a volunteer to deliver the message but no roll-call vote tally in the transcript.)

Committee concerns and next steps

Transportation committee and COA members urged coordinated follow-up: invite the town manager to a committee meeting, assemble usage and cost data (rides by origin/destination, eligibility groups, program costs), and identify what level of town budget support would be required to sustain essential services. Committee members said they can produce a fact sheet with ridership and cost breakdowns to inform the Select Board and Finance Committee.

Quotes

“...the Flash vote actually does have demographics. So if you go into the Flash vote on a desktop or a laptop, you can toggle various demographics to see, you know, the age of people, where they live by precinct...” — Janie Dretler, Select Board (remarks at March 10 meeting)

Ending

Committee members emphasized the short timetable: with contracts expiring in June, they asked town officials to prioritize a plan for sustaining medically focused and on-demand transportation for seniors, people with disabilities and residents with financial need and to provide clear public notice if services will change.