Newton’s new transportation service for seniors, Newton in Motion or NewMo, launched on Monday. According to Jenna Fisher at the Patch:
“The service is part shuttle, part uber, and while it won’t take a rider just anywhere in the city – there’s a list of spots folks can get to using the service online – the goal is to get people to and from the senior center, villages, medical appointments and to specified destinations, primarily in Newton without hassle.”
It is expected that NewMo will be significantly more reliable than the city’s previous voucher program with Veteran’s Taxi. Via Transportation, based in New York, is providing the new service.
Have you seen one of the snazzy NewMo vans around the city?
At the recent Metropolitan Planning Council meeting on coordinating mass transit, the member from Lexington spoke of trying to not silo services into groups – seniors, students, workers, etc. but instead have a service for all and the address the needs of those who couldn’t use it. Both for reasons of cost and equity.
I have no doubt this Senior Shuttle is a good thing for seniors, but I think breaking down mass transit silos is a better thing.
@Lucia – yes, excellent point. If the service is successful with seniors, I hope there will be an opportunity to expand it to other groups.
The previous city-provided transportation service for seniors – the voucher program through Veterans Taxi – was in urgent need of replacement, and that drove (ha!) the selection of a new system. Gotta start somewhere.
I’d rather the somewhere to start was somewhere bolder.
Will the shuttles be electric?
Allison –
This sounds very good. Can the service handle wheelchairs? I’d like to suggest expanding it to residents with disabilities ASAP as the next step, given how difficult Newton can be to navigate for those with mobility limitations (i.e., same reason as to why it’s provided for seniors.)
@Meredith – yes, the service can handle wheelchairs. More info here.
@Lucia – not yet, though my understanding is that they’re working on transitioning to electric. As it currently stands, the Via service greatly reduces the number of vehicles needed and the number of miles driven based on their sophisticated ride sharing and planning algorithms.
@Allison – thank you. Could you please let whoever made the flyer know that it would be helpful if when they say new riders must first contact the Senior Center, they provided the phone number.
@Meredith – good catch. I’ve forwarded that feedback to the Dept. of Senior Services.
This is a great idea! Seniors can get places in an affordable way. Would be great for teens also. My teen can take the Green Line to Fenway or The Garden, but not to the Newton North area. My teen does not have his own car.
So, in the same month the City boycotts investment in fossil fuel companies and then starts a new fleet of vehicle that burn … fossil fuels.
I’m less concerned about fossil fuel use when it’s transporting a larger number of people and lowering the number of single occupant vehicles on the road. Electric options will become practical very soon.
I’d also like to see this option become available for non seniors. I think given the size and layout of the city it can be done very economically.
I saw one, and it was in Newton Centre, on Centre St. southbound, waiting at the light before Beacon St. Only the driver was in the van and my question was “Is this an EV? Isn’t it supposed to be EV?
Kind of weird with the Climate Action Plan and all that the City would invest at this time in an ICE – internal combustion engine.
Seems like the PR got ahead of the city’s stated goals.
@Lucia wrote: “I have no doubt this Senior Shuttle is a good thing for seniors, but I think breaking down mass transit silos is a better thing.”
And…
@NewtonMom wrote: “Would be great for teens also. My teen can take the Green Line to Fenway or The Garden, but not to the Newton North area. My teen does not have his own car.”
Reading the comments on this post for the ONE service the City of Newton is offering to just Seniors makes it clear why Newton is replacing its Senior Center with a “multi-generational” center. The reason is Ageism.
Neither of the people who thought that this service should be for other groups in Newton, with Seniors included as an after-thought, considered that elderly people HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS. While I am not old enough to use this new service, as someone who is in their 50’s, I would like to eventually have access to a transportation service designed to meet the needs of elderly residents.
The NewMo rides are shared (you ride with other passengers), and when I become old, I won’t want to share a car ride with rowdy teenagers. Will these healthy young teenagers be willing to wait patiently while an old person tries to navigate their way into or out of the car? I doubt it. And, the teenagers, and other young people, will dominate the City’s transportation service, leaving elderly people trapped in their homes in isolation.
As for NewtonMom’s teenage son, why don’t you encourage him to ride a bicycle? Newton taxpayers pay a lot in taxes, with much of that money going to provide your son with an education. Do you want us to also pay for a chauffeuring service for him? I am much older than your child and I have been using a bicycle to get around Newton for years. Riding a bicycle will give your son some independence and will provide good exercise for him.
Disabled people can use the MBTA’s “The Ride” service (https://www.mbta.com/accessibility/the-ride), which is better than NewMo because it has a much larger service area (”The RIDE is available in 58 cities and towns in the greater Boston area” and “The MBTA is currently running on-demand paratransit pilots with Uber, Lyft, and Curb Mobility (taxi), where RIDE customers can book subsidized rides instantly, right from their smartphones.”). If I were disabled, I would use “The Ride” instead of taking away a service from the elderly, especially when Newton does next to nothing for Seniors.
I have been trying to decide whether to Age in Place in Newton, but given the degree of AgeisUbietym here, and the unwillingness of many residents to provide services which meet the needs of Seniors, I am having second thoughts about staying here.
“I have been trying to decide whether to Age in Place in Newton, but given the degree of AgeisUbietym here”
“AbeisUbietym” should read “ageism.” The cursor jumped into the comment field when I was typing my name into the name field, thus creating this nonsensical word. Sorry for the confusion.
@ubiety – I suggested this service should be available to the disabled. I’m a senior but I’ve also recently had a bad fall and I’m stuck in a wheelchair for 3 months. The Ride has serious limitations such as having to be reserved at least a day in advance.
I think NewMo should be available to those with disabilities for precisely the reason it’s available to seniors. Anyone in a wheelchair has very restricted options and can’t even just ask a friend for a ride. Especially for those of us who live alone, having transportation to be called on short notice is very important.
@Meredith wrote: ” The Ride has serious limitations such as having to be reserved at least a day in advance.”
I still think that The Ride will be better for the disabled in the long run. Did you notice the part I quoted for why it is superior? They have a *pilot program* which allows riders to book a ride *instantly* from their smartphones. (“The MBTA is currently running on-demand paratransit pilots with Uber, Lyft, and Curb Mobility (taxi), where RIDE customers can book subsidized rides instantly, right from their smartphones.”)
I don’t know if the pilot program is available everywhere at this point, but why should Newton invest in a larger program to include the disabled when the MBTA already has a program in place? It makes no sense; and I guarantee you that by advocating for this, you will be shooting yourself in the foot as a senior. Trying to accommodate multiple groups of people in the City’s transit service will result in the program growing too large and eventually being terminated during a budget cut. I think it is fair to keep it for Seniors only because *everyone* grows old, no matter who they are, so we will all eventually qualify to use the program if we stay in Newton during our older years.
I don’t think Newton has enough people with disabilities to overwhelm the seniors, and NewMo already has wheelchair accessible vans.
My experience today looking into Lyft and Uber pilots was underwhelming to say the least, and ended up leaving me stranded at my doctors in Wellesley because Uber brought me there but wouldn’t pick me up again. I then ended up having to spend $90 to get back to Newton using the cab company that lifts is outsourcing to for vans.
Ubiety – If this happens it will be a major failure of local government: “Trying to accommodate multiple groups of people in the City’s transit service will result in the program growing too large and eventually being terminated during a budget cut.”
Just yesterday, I saw a person in a wheelchair waiting for the Ride, presumed forgotten, in a public place as staff tried to figure out why they were dropped off, but not picked up. I don’t think the Ride is as reliable or flexible as a local service would be.