How Westborough’s new WRTA partnership will change senior transportation
Loading...
Summary
The Select Board voted 5–0 to partner with WRTA for a mobility‑management model that gives Westborough seniors scheduled out‑of‑town medical trips and shifts day‑to‑day scheduling from the COA to WRTA while town drivers remain employed locally.
The Town of Westborough Select Board voted unanimously on May 13 to support a WRTA mobility‑management program that will change how the Council on Aging (COA) schedules and operates much of its van transportation.
What the program does: Under the mobility‑management model, WRTA will provide centralized dispatch, scheduling and paratransit office services while the town will hire and employ the drivers. WRTA plans to station two WRTA‑branded paratransit vans in Westborough; the vehicles will be 8‑ or 12‑passenger vans equipped with wheelchair lifts. Nick Burnham, WRTA’s director of operations and planning, said the arrangement frees local COA staff from daily scheduling burdens and “not totally different from what the COA provides now, but…the additional part is that we'd be providing that medical transportation outside of Westborough, which is, what we've heard is desperately needed from the community.”
Riders and hours: The proposed operating window is Monday–Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., and Friday 8 a.m.–11 a.m. (Fridays limited to in‑town trips). WRTA said riders may register beginning the week of June 23 and schedule trips starting July 1. “So all of our rides… are fare free through, 06/30/2026,” Burnham said, noting WRTA’s advisory board has kept fares suspended through the upcoming state fiscal year.
Funding and assessments: WRTA and town finance staff explained the cherry‑sheet mechanism used for RTA/MBTA assessments: Westborough currently shows both MBTA and WRTA assessments; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 161A allows some assessment funds to be flexed to the RTA to fund service in a community that formally belongs to an RTA. Tom Coyne (deputy administrator/CFO) outlined an expected first‑year town share in the neighborhood of 25–30% of the service cost contingent on state contract assistance and the final cost allocation.
Board concerns and responses: Select board members asked for metrics on unmet demand, denials, rider satisfaction and on‑time performance. Burnham said WRTA received two months of COA raw passenger data (Feb–Mar) showing about 500 trips per month and that neighborhood infill (Northborough, Shrewsbury) could help optimize runs. The board also asked for clarity about whether the WRTA vans replace or supplement the town fleet; COA staff said the two WRTA vans would replace the part of the schedule currently served on an individual‑trip basis while the town would retain vans for special events. The board asked that initial performance measures and rider satisfaction be tracked and reported.
Operational protections: WRTA said drivers will be trained in wheelchair securement and random drug/alcohol testing per federal/state programs, and the paratransit office will use an automated reminder call system the night before trips. WRTA noted it is reprocuring paratransit software next year and may add real‑time ETA features in a future procurement.
What the board approved: By voting to support implementation and authorizing the town manager to execute required documents, the Select Board created a path for the COA to transition regular client scheduling to WRTA while maintaining local driver employment and keeping the COA vans available for events. The board asked staff to come back with early usage data and customer satisfaction information in the initial months of operation.
Provenance: WRTA mobility‑management presentation and board discussion (transcript: start SEG 092; motion and vote SEG 1912–SEG 1986).
