MetroWest495 Biz

There, the Worcester Regional Transit Authority worked with town officials to start a new service at the start of this year. The MBTA-funded Westbor- ough shuttle transports commuters from the train station at the western end of town to destinations that include the major employment hub around the Research Drive industrial park. "The town of Westborough is upbeat and very ahead of the game as far as recognizing the value of tran- sit," WRTA Administrator Stephen O'Neil said. "They've been very receptive and very helpful." The service began in December with a total ridership of 51, and by June had reached 427, partly due to added routes transporting people around town during the workday. O'Neil said that on some morning commuter trips, there have been more passengers than available seats, giving the service the "good problem" of figuring out how to make sure everyone gets a ride. Westborough Town Planner Jim Robbins said the town had been seek- ing the service for years. No one, he said, is going to walk more than three miles from the MBTA station to the office parks, so having the shuttle dramatically increases the usefulness of the train service. hub to home This is what planners call the "last mile" issue in transportation. Offering service from one central hub to another is relatively easy, but moving each person from the hub to their home or office is much more complicated. Shuttles like the one in Westborough are one solution to this problem. Oth- ers include facilitating bike riding, or — perhaps someday — the use of Google-style driverless cars as cost- effective taxis. At eClinicalWorks, one of the employers served by the shuttle, spokeswoman Heather Caouette said some workers, particularly those who live in the Boston area, use it to get to and from the MBTA station each day. It's a particularly attractive option for people who live in walkable areas with high parking costs and would rather not have a car. O'Neil said more workers are likely to decide to follow this pattern. Compared with the older generations, young people are now more drawn to urban or center-of-town living and less eager to take on the expense and hassle of owning a car. "They want to see viable public transportation, so I think there's going to be more pressure exerted by them as they become more of a force," he said. It helps, O'Neil said, that technol- ogy is making it easier to use public transit. Instead of "peering around the corner looking for the bus," passengers can use mobile phone apps to find out when the next one will arrive. Jonathan Church, a project man- ager with the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, said many local communities are trying to figure out how to encourage more pub- lic transit use. They're responding to both environmental and demographic concerns. That includes the declin- ing American love affair with the car among young adults that O'Neil men- tioned, but also a growing population of older people who can't, or would rather not, drive. Westborough a trailblazer Church said Westborough seems to be doing a good job bringing business and government interests together to make better transit happen. "I think it has become a model of developing community transit," he said. One place that may follow that mod- el is Grafton, where the Cummings School is working with the WRTA, the town and another nearby organization, the Grafton Job Corps, to look into adding a new shuttle stop. Already, a WRTA route makes stops in Grafton, including at the train station, and the Cummings School's Poteete said it shouldn't be too difficult to extend the route an extra half-mile to the campus. If the bus arrivals and departures could be aligned with class schedules, it would encourage some students and staff to ride the train, since their last-mile problem would be solved, Poteete said. And while many mem- bers of the college community live in suburban neighborhoods without easy access to trains and buses, others live right in Worcester and could take a bus directly from campus to their own neighborhoods. Poteete said talks with the transit authority have also touched on the possibility of equipping buses with bike racks for people who live within biking, but not walking, distance of a bus station. The discussions are going well, she said, though details still need to be ironed out. "It's really exciting, and it's a really excellent example of public and private institutions partnering for the benefit of a sustainable and more convenient transport," she said. n 24 MetroWest495 Biz | August 2014 Grow Your Business start a Business exit Your Business Family Owned/Closely Held Businesses Have Unique Challenges as Well as Many Opportunities Regardless of Where You are Headed on the Business Roadmap, ROCG Can Help! Navigating your business, particularly after an economic downturn, can be difficult. Business owners, now more than ever, are unsure whether to veer right, veer left or stay the course. This is where ROCG can help! 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