By Kim Siebert MacPhail
How viable is car-free living in Bedford? For example, can you get to an appointment at Lahey Clinic in Burlington if you don’t have a car? How about making your way to the train station in Concord?
Besides hitchhiking, walking, biking or asking a friend to drive you, two options exist for Bedford residents without cars needing to reach destinations that are not on the MBTA 62 bus line: The Ride and the BLT (Bedford Local Transit.)
The Citizen recently spoke with Lori Wittner, Director of Bedford’s Council on Aging, who is a veritable resource of information when it comes to local transportation—even for populations other than the elderly—and to Dottie Piantedosi, driver of the BLT van. Here’s what we discovered:
The Ride is MBTA supported and termed a “paratransit service” by the T’s website. It provides “door-to door, shared-ride transportation to eligible people who cannot use general public transportation all or some of the time, because of a physical, cognitive or mental disability.”
Wittner says that The Ride uses passenger cars as well as vans that can accommodate wheelchairs. Prospective users must verify eligibility by applying and then appearing in person for a confidential interview before receiving transportation services.
Rides should be booked 1-14 days in advance and cost $4.00, or twice the fare charged by the BLT, Bedford’s fixed-route local transportation program.
One of the downfalls of The Ride that Wittner hears complaints about is that, since it is a shared-ride service, a passenger might be picked up far earlier and dropped back at home much later than expected. This is because The Ride picks up passengers at other locations going to multiple destinations, resulting in what can be an inordinate amount of time in transit.
To read more about The Ride, visit: https://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/accessible_services/default.asp?id=7108
Bedford Local Transit or BLT is a fixed route transportation service, co-funded by the Town and the MBTA. It offers, according to the Town’s website, “scheduled fixed runs to shopping malls and other stops in Bedford, Burlington, and Billerica and also on-demand, door-to-door service within Bedford.” Anyone may ride the BLT.
Out of town rides must be booked in advance and confirmed between 8 and 9 AM on the morning of the appointment. For in town use, the BLT has a combination of fixed route and on-demand service, although— as both Wittner and Piantedosi emphasized— unreserved seats can be hard to come by, depending on the day and time of day.
Fares are $1.00 each way in town and $2.00 each way for out of town trips. Pre-paid fare cards are available at a discounted rate from Piantedosi ($20 buys $25 worth of trips.) Riders without prepaid cards must pay their fares upon entering the bus.
Piantedosi says that the BLT ridership has increased to the point that there is very little room for additional users, yet she is concerned about adding more capacity in the way of vans and drivers.
“As it is, [the fares] barely pay for the gas I use, and I know all the short cuts around Bedford,” she said.
To read more about the BLT and see the fixed route schedule, visit: https://www.town.bedford.ma.us/index.php/services/bedford-local-transit
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