Local Officials Meet To Discuss Regional Transit Authority
Friday, August 02, 2013
On Wednesday, July 31, State Representative Peter Durant (R-Spencer) welcomed about a dozen Southern Worcester County local officials as well as Regional Transit Authority Administrator Stephen O’Neil, Central Mass Regional Planning Commission official Mary Ellen Blunt and Kirstie Pecci, Staff Attorney with the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) to the Sturbridge Town Hall to discuss the state of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority, one of fifteen RTAs in Massachusetts.
The conversation comes about six months after the expansion of RTA services in Worcester County, and two months after the grand opening of the RTA Transportation HUB at Union Station in Worcester. Through the recently passed transportation funding bill, the WRTA will now receive forward funding, rather than operating on a credit card, and will receive an additional $300,000 in funding this fiscal year.
The largest portion of the meeting consisted of a discussion of success metrics to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the WRTA. This includes measures of on time service, infrastructure breakdowns, volume of ridership and implementation of technology to allow for vehicle tracking and real time passenger updates. Of particular interest was the implementation of new services such as a bus line into Southbridge and Charlton, and the potential improvements that can be made to that line.
“Our South Central Mass Communities have a huge and until now under-served need for public transportation,” Representative Durant said. “It is great to see the Commonwealth’s commitment to regional transportation programs such as the WRTA which provide these communities with much needed service. I am excited to take part in this conversation to make sure that we are doing the very best that we can with the money that we have.”
"Interest in public transportation has really grown in recent years.” Mary Ellen Blunt added. “It's a national phenomenon — and we need to expand the system to reflect that."
Stephen O'Neil said "Thanks to the new transportation law passed by the legislature, we'll be able to expand services for the first time in years. They realized you can't keep kicking the can down the road."
Kirstie Pecci added that she thought the discussion was very informative and was gladdened that further meetings around local transportation needs were proposed for this fall. "Folks like Stephen O'Neill of the WRTA, Mary Ellen Blunt of the CMRPC and Tim O'Day from South Central Mass Elder Bus are working really hard to make new technology, better metrics and a little better funding translate into much better service for the region. MASSPIRG wants to make sure they continue to hear from the community as well. Then they know what the community needs and any changes to the system will be much more successful."
The meeting consisted of elected officials, Town Administrators and Managers, Chamber of Commerce officials, transportation providers, and additional interested parties.
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