The Ride (MBTA)

The Ride vehicle in Lexington

The Ride (sometimes styled as THE RIDE) is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's paratransit program for people with physical, mental or cognitive disabilities that make it difficult or impossible to ride the MBTA's fixed-route bus, train, and ferry services. The program uses wheelchair accessible vans for door-to-door service; drivers are required to assist passengers to and from the vehicle. The Ride satisfies requirements under the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act for transit systems to provide services for those who cannot ride the fixed-route system.^[1] The service began in April 1977 with two vehicles.^[2]

Unlike fixed-route services, The Ride trips must be scheduled in advance. Same-day trip requests, and those greater than 3/4 mile from fixed-route services, incur a surcharge.^[1] The Ride does not use the CharlieCard; instead, passengers must set up an individual account with the MBTA.^[1]

The Ride has attracted criticism in recent years for its high costs - over $50 per rider per trip - and inefficient service model.^[3]^[4]

Operations

The program is run by the MBTA, but actual service is contracted out to three separate companies and organizations in the Greater Boston area to run the service. The service uses the MBTA branding and the vans can largely be identified by color schemes with stripes running alongside the van. (However, GLSS also uses their own vans with their own branding in combination with MBTA-branded vans).

North	Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS)	Blue
Northwest	Veterans Transportation, LLC	Red
South	National Express, LLC	Green

Criticism

The program has been criticized for its high cost to the MBTA, particularly since much of the MBTA was made accessible in the past three decades.^[5] (All MBTA Bus routes and Orange Line stations are accessible, as are most Red line and Blue Line stations; about 75% of commuter rail stations and most high-ridership Green Line stations are accessible). During discussions of potential major fare increases and service cuts in 2013, the program's high cost per rider was cited as waste.

References

1 2 3 "THE RIDE Paratransit Program". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
↑ "MBTA Marks The RIDE’s 25 Years of Service" (PDF). TRANSReport. Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. May 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
↑ Katz, Bob; et al. (December 2011). "RIDE Program Review – Final Report" (PDF). Financial Analysis and Control Technology Services LLC. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
↑ Quinn, Colleen (21 February 2012). "Inspector General recommends money savers for costly MBTA Ride program". MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
↑ Wells, Jonathan (21 February 2011). "I-Team: ‘The Ride’ Breaking MBTA’s Budget". CBS Boston. Retrieved 9 October 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Ride (MBTA).

MBTA: The Ride

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Subway lines
(List of stations)

Heavy rail	Blue Orange Red

Light rail	Green "B" Branch "C" Branch "D" Branch "E" Branch Ashmont–Mattapan

Former lines	Arborway Line Atlantic Avenue Elevated Causeway Street Elevated Charlestown Elevated Green Line "A" Branch Washington Street Elevated

Commuter
Rail lines
(List of stations)

North Station lines	Fitchburg Haverhill (Wildcat Branch) Lowell Newburyport/Rockport

South Station lines	Fairmount Framingham/Worcester Franklin Greenbush Needham Old Colony (Kingston/Plymouth Middleborough/Lakeville CapeFLYER) Providence/Stoughton

Former lines	Central Mass Branch Dedham Branch Lexington Branch Millis Branch Woburn Branch

Bus routes
(List of routes)

Other services

Component parts
of system lines

Boylston Street Subway
Haymarket North Extension
Lechmere Viaduct
Tremont Street Subway
Washington Street Subway

Capital projects

Under construction	Chelsea extension Fairmount Line upgrades Fitchburg Line upgrades Wachusett extension Forest Hills modifications Government Center reconstruction Green Line Extension Haverhill Line upgrades South Coast Rail

In planning / proposed	Buzzards Bay extension Foxboro service Hynes Convention Center renovation Kingston R.I. extension Nashua extension Route 16 extension Wollaston renovation

Formerly proposed	Arborway Line restoration Indigo Line (Fairmount Grand Junction Track 61) Lexington extension Lynn extension North–South Rail Link Plaistow extension Reading extension Red Line—Blue Line Connector Urban Ring Project

History

Predecessor companies	Boston Elevated Railway Streetcar lines Boston and Maine Railroad Conrail New York Central Railroad New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Penn Central Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Middlesex and Boston Street Railway Newton and Boston Street Railway

Route histories	History of the Green Line

Accidents and incidents	1990 Back Bay 2008 Waban/Woodland

Other

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