Intern research flags rising senior transit demand and information gap in Acton

Son Kosek, an intern and rising sophomore at Babson College, told the finance committee that Acton’s senior and disability transportation services show strong demand growth and that many seniors may not be aware of the services available.

Kosek described two local services: a fixed-route “cab bus” and on-demand rides (road-runner style or services run through the Council on Aging) that provide door-to-door trips for seniors and disabled adults. He said combined rides have more than doubled since 2021 but that available data did not indicate which trips were driven by seniors specifically.

Kosek highlighted the financial strain on seniors who rely on private rides: “An Uber ride to a medical appointment can cost $30 to $40 for a round trip. If a senior uses these services every week, that’s $1,800 or more a year,” he said.

Committee members and audience members asked about per-trip municipal costs and year-to-year ridership variance. Kosek said he could not find the town’s per-trip cost in the time available and suggested conducting a senior survey to measure awareness of available services and identify seniors without informal networks.

Several speakers at the meeting — including Tara Fredericks (West Acton) and a member of the public who reported declining monthly ridership in 2024 relative to 2023 — stressed that outreach and clarity about available services could affect utilization. Kosek agreed the model could be used to test scenarios, including service changes or outreach campaigns, and recommended the town consider targeted outreach and perhaps a census of seniors to measure unmet need.

The presentation prompted discussion about pandemic impacts on ridership and whether ridership has recovered to pre-COVID levels; Kosek and others suggested that public-health concerns and limited awareness likely keep some seniors from resuming pre-pandemic travel patterns.