Cambridge to Begin Study of Local Transit Services in August

The City of Cambridge plans to launch a yearlong study of transit services gaps next month. Officials hope that the study will provide solutions for increasing the use of private shuttles available to the public and improve these overall transit offerings.

During a June committee meeting, Cambridge city councillors urged the importance of using local riders to offer perspectives for the study.

“If [consultants] are not embedded in the City of Cambridge and have the ties to members of our community, I don't see it as being as robust as if we were to put dollars in the pockets of our neighbors to engage in this work,” said councillor Ayesha M. Wilson in a statement provided to the Cambridge Day. Councillor Patty Nolan asked transportation staff to consider MIT and Harvard grad students for study leads or use the experts at the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe Center in Kendall Square.

During the meeting's public comment period, East Cambridge's Heather Hoffman spoke out about using locals to inform the study. 

“When the MBTA rolled out its initial bus network reconception, there were tears from the City Council and absolutely no understanding of the fact that the MBTA was proposing to take away three-quarters of the buses that serve my neighborhood,” she said.

Following the public comment period, the committee meeting included a presentation that addressed the existing or soon-to-be available citywide transportation services, starting with the EZRide shuttle bus service that began running seven days this spring in eastern parts of the city. This bus service runs from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. June 3 marked the formal start to daily service.

 In addition to bringing more buses to Massachusetts Avenue, a new MBTA bus route may be created to connect Inman Square, Central Square, and Cambridgeport with regional connections to Boston's Fenway and Longwood Medical Area as well as Union Square in Somerville, said Andrew Reker, assistant transportation planner for Cambridge.