Asked the City Manager to work with relevant departments and agencies to design and implement a pilot program providing subsidized, on-demand transit to low-income residents, people with disabilities and seniors, with a goal of expanding the program to service the region in ways that supplement the MBTA system via fare-free, on-demand transit for everyone

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The Cambridge Vehicle Trip Reduction Ordinance states that “Measures to discourage, and provide alternatives to, vehicle trips and trips by single-occupancy vehicles made by residents of and visitors to Cambridge are also necessary to further the goals of the Clean Air Act.”; and

Simple logic dictates that the more convenient and less costly transit alternatives are, the more likely they are to displace and eliminate single-occupancy vehicle trips and private vehicle ownership; and

The City Council requested via a policy order last year that the City Manager develop a local transit pilot, but no official response has been received by the City Council; and

The Mayor and Councillor Azeem have formed a Fare Free Bus Pilot Working group

to study the feasibility of piloting fare free transit in Cambridge; and

Several Councillors have had extensive discussions with the City Manager and staff regarding the feasibility of piloting a fare free, on-demand transit system available to all residents and visitors in Cambridge, but the Council as a whole has not yet been briefed on this effort; and

Cities including Newton and Salem have implemented on-demand transit services; and

Via Transit already operates shuttle services in Cambridge, including the Harvard shuttle buses; and

To the extent that there is concern about on-demand transit competing with regional transit and private on-demand services, these concerns can be addressed through appropriate program design and reasonable limitations on pick-up and destination points; and

There are various programs in Cambridge that provide limited, subsidized transportation options for seniors and people with disabilities, but suffer from inconveniences and shortcomings; and

Staff have voiced concern that while Cambridge may be able to consolidate these programs for seniors and people with disabilities, doing so could lead to service degradation in surrounding communities that also participate in these programs if Cambridge were to stop subsidizing them; and

Cambridge, working with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) has

already demonstrated the ability to lead on developing new regional transit options with the highly successful Bluebikes program and could similarly consult with neighboring municipalities on how to best move forward with fare-free, on demand transit in the Boston metro area including Cambridge; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to work with relevant departments and agencies including MAPC, the Department of Traffic and Transportation, Public Works, Community Development and Human Services to design and implement a pilot program providing subsidized, on-demand transit to low-income residents, people with disabilities and seniors, with a goal of expanding the program to service the region in ways that supplement the MBTA system via fare-free, on-demand transit for everyone; and be it further

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back on this matter no later than September 30, 2023 with an initial update on how the City Manager plans to proceed with implementing such a pilot program.