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The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) will begin offering it’s Catch Connect service in Sudbury starting on July 1. The service is similar to Uber and Lyft in terms of it’s smartphone app-based ride ordering system and curb-to-curb service. However, Catch Connect uses accessible vans and professional drivers, and users can also call a phone number to book a ride.
The pilot in Sudbury will run for a year, and will be available Monday through Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Riders will be able to get anywhere in Sudbury, as well as the Target plaza in Marlborough. Rides are free in July, and will be $2 per ride thereafter. According to the MWRTA website: “All Catch Connect vehicles are fully accessible, and drivers are thoroughly trained in customer service and ADA requirements.”
The pilot is the result of ongoing efforts from Sudbury’s Transportation Committee, which was formed by the Select Board to “address a key feature of livable communities: transportation.” Catch Connect joins a grow list of transportation options in Sudbury, including several other pilots launched by the Transportation Committee in partnership with Town staff and departments, as well as regional partners. Those include the Go Sudbury! Taxi Medical Rides program, the Go Sudbury! Uber Rides program, the Sudbury Connection Van service run out of the Senior Center, and the MWRTA Dial-a-Ride which supplements that service. A full list of transportation programs in Sudbury is available here.
Catch Connect is a significant addition to the available services. Transportation advocates argue that micro-transit programs are a key component of strategies to make affordable and accessible transportation options available to the public. While the program is still in the pilot phase, it could help to address acute transportation challenges in Sudbury. The Transportation Committee mission statement characterizes Sudbury’s challenges rather succinctly: “Sudbury is currently car-dependent, putting a number of residents at risk of isolation, loss of work, inability to access medical care, etc.”
There will be a launch event for Sudbury’s Catch Connect service on Thursday, June 6, at the Sudbury Senior Center. More details here.