Sudbury committee moves toward Uber voucher system as taxi contracts, shuttle funding near end

The Subway Transportation Committee on March 21 discussed moving to a managed Uber voucher program and narrowing the town’s reliance on multiple small services as taxi contracts, the CATCH Connect grant and a state-funded hospital shuttle approach their end dates.

Committee members said the voucher system could be easier for riders and administrators and give the town more control over eligible vehicles and destinations. "We can actually give them a daily voucher," said Alice Sapienza, committee member, describing options that would help riders who have difficulty budgeting. Sapienza also said the system can be limited geographically: "we can now ... set the geofence at 25 miles as the crow flies from the center of Sudbury," stopping vouchers from being used for Logan Airport trips.

Why it matters: the committee is reconciling program design with shrinking dedicated funding and upcoming contract expirations. Members said the town has about $135,000 in a remaining ARPA allocation and ‘‘just under $17,000’’ left from a 2023 town-meeting article for these services; using a rolling six-month average of recent use, current funding would cover Uber and taxi through roughly August 2026 if current usage continues. The committee also said a separate MassDOT carryover request is pending for the hospital shuttle and that state legislation extending remote meetings is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Discussion highlights and technical details: speakers described several voucher design choices: daily versus monthly vouchers, nontransferable credits that do not roll over, vehicle-type restrictions to block premium services (for example, Uber Black), and an optional concierge phone service to help riders who cannot use the app. Sapienza said the concierge option costs $5 per ride and asked whether the town could absorb that fee for riders with visual impairments.

Committee member Jill (listed in the meeting as a staff member) said the transition will require outreach and training. "Change is hard for people," she said, urging careful rollout plans so seniors and other users are not left behind.

Usage and budgeting context: speakers reported program statistics and enrollment counts from Sudbury’s records. The committee discussed that roughly 30 to 40 individuals use Uber in a typical month, while several hundred people are enrolled in mobility programs (Speakers cited figures of about 300 enrolled in Uber and a broader total across programs reported as about 510). February usage was described as lower than recent months; the same presentation noted Uber spend near $1,700 for February and taxis ‘‘a little over $5,000’’ for that month.

Next steps and staff directions: the committee did not adopt a formal motion to switch systems during the meeting but reached informal agreement to proceed on the voucher path while preserving wheelchair-accessible taxi service. The body assigned follow-up tasks: staff will pull six months of Uber trip data and compute median and mean trip costs to inform a voucher-dollar cap; committee staff will request two additional months of shuttle data from Daniel Fitch to show the state that the town is shifting riders toward the shuttle; and the committee will wait for MassDOT/DOT to confirm whether Boston hospital shuttle funds can be carried into the next fiscal year. Committee members also said they will explore options to expand Dial-A-Ride or to contract with a taxi provider to maintain wheelchair-accessible rides if taxis remain necessary.

Unresolved items and implementation risks: committee members flagged implementation risks tied to user onboarding (seniors who need hands‑on help), taxi company capacity for wheelchair trips, and pending DOT determinations about carryover. Several speakers recommended first-come, first-served or capped monthly allocations to limit a sudden surge in voucher uptake if all enrolled users received credits at once.

The committee scheduled additional work: staff promised to circulate the median/mean ride figures and suggested the committee develop a communications plan for any service changes. The group also agreed to revisit dispatch arrangements: if the town phases out in‑house dispatch, a contracted taxi provider would likely assume dispatch responsibilities under a voucher model.

The committee did not vote on a final program design at the March 21 meeting; members asked for the data above and scheduled follow-up discussion at upcoming meetings.