Green Newton reports that the city will be launching a new commuter focused transit system starting next week. NewMo2.0’s focus is to address the “last mile” link between the T and various locations in Newton.
The on-demand micro-transit system will operate weekdays from 7:30am-6:30pm, and provide transportation between:
- Newton Highlands, Needham Street, Wells Avenue, and UMass Mount Ida
- Newtonville commuter rail, Needham, and Needham Heights commuter rail
- Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, and Newton Highlands Green Line stations.
According to the NN Chamber of Commerce …
“This pilot program is subsidized with grant funding for one year.
Each ride will cost $2 with a goal of providing workers with access to the last mile transit. Anticipated wait time for rides should be not more than 15 minutes but may fluctuate based on rider demand.
Employers who enroll in the program will be able to set up a billing system and parameters to offer subsidized pricing for workers or customers.
Employers interested in learning more should contact Nicole Freedman, Newton’s director of transportation.”
Be interesting to see if someone north of the pike can use the service to get to a T stop…since the commuter rail schedule is horrendous
No West Newton or Auburndale?
Surprising? Shocking? No Riverside T Stop or West Newton or Auburndale Commuter Rail on the list.
In the same vein, check out the two youtube videos touring the possible gun store locations on
Rumford Street https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8KgMTO_LWA and North Street https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOPabTaahXM
I find the wording on this post a bit confusing. It reads “provide transportation between” and then has three bullets that each list three locations. Does it mean transit from a mile from any of those locations to one of those locations?
Also the price seems high since at market rate T ride on the Green Line is $2.60. I don’t pay that since I have an employee subsidy. And if we are talking a mile isn’t that an easy walk or bike ride. If you have to wait 15 minutes or more is it really “on demand” when you could bike or walk it faster?
And as someone who works in the Longwood Medical Center area who takes the T when I can’t commute on my Vespa, I can say that a large % of riders on the Green Line work schedules that won’t align with this because 1/3 of healthcare workers have schedules that don’t match up and that has been a large % of Green Line riders
I could be proven wrong but I am skeptical that there will be sufficient demand for this service given:
# of people working remotely
% of people whose schedule doesn’t align
% of people who live within a mile who would walk or bike rather then pay $2
My understanding is that the service will provide on-demand transportation between any of these stops and any Newton address. You can either start or end at one of these locations (or both, I guess, if you are crossing lines for some reason).
That’s the reason, I believe, that Newtonville is the only commuter rail stop on its line listed. You can use the transit service to go from an Auburndale address to the Newtonville CR stop.
For people who drive to a transit stop, this will be cheaper than parking. It will be interesting to see how it works and how people build it into their schedules.
If my understanding of the program is incorrect, I’ll update in another comment.
I’ll mention just one of many concerns I have and it pertains to commuters to or from Boston on the Green Line whether they work in Newton or not. The 7:30 AM starting time puts a lot of pressure on commuters who have to be to work in Boston or Newton before 9 AM. Deficiencies in how long it takes passengers to get from their home to the pick up point, when on demand vehicles actually show up to pick them up, the time it takes to get to the appropriate green line station, the time it takes to travel into Boston on the Green Line from the appropriate MBTA station and the time it would take to walk from Park Street, Government Center, Haymarket or North Station to their place of work. Not to mention dealing with unanticipated breakdowns on the Green Line, slowdowns during snow storms and other inclement weather suggest a very time consuming commute if everything doesn’t go like clockwork which, of course, it quite often does not. I see other logistical problems, but this is enough to get my point across.
@MaryLee – there are many of us for whom a 1 mile walk or bike ride is not easy, nor even possible. Among others, many of us with disabilities and many elderly people.
Meredith, I TOTALLY understand your point. I may be wrong but my impression is that the city already offers transportation options and supports for our residents who are elderly and/or disabled. If that isn’t that case, then it should be.
My observations on this pilot program is that it is geared towards those who regularly commute east and west across Newton and into Boston (given the M-F 7:30am-6:30pm schedule) As someone who fits into that demographic slice, I think my observations are informative.
By it’s nature a pilot is designed as a proof of concept and my observations are offered as I don’t see this program as likely to meet enough needs of daily commuters to be successful. It won’t add value for some key demographic groups who use the MBTA for their daily commute.
But that is just my assessment, I could be proven wrong
I get hopeful when I see these posts that maybe someday things will get better. I would love to take the T more. Often when I plug my destination into the route finder it sends me on foot to Carter st in Waltham. There I can get the 70 ( Bus ) or the commuter rail to North station. Its only a mile walk but in January will snow all over the place I always just take the car. I can get to Carter street by bus but that usually makes overall trip too long to be worth it. Also my kids are too young for Ubers but I am comfortable with them on the T.
@Mike Leavey. I’ve been taking the Green Line from Eliot Station into Boston since 1959 and despite some heroic efforts to improve things, not much of substance has really changed. One of the proposed schemes involves allowing various forms of multi unit housing within one mile of a T Station, but this appears to be a very arbitrary formula without a lot of supporting evidence about demand for service and the capacity of the line to handle significant increases that might occur from expanded multi unit development in so many newly designated areas. I would like nothing more than for all my concerns to be baseless or overly pessimistic because I’ve always been a big fan of greatly expanded public transportation.
With the caveat that I haven’t been involved in this project for a long time, I believe the routes here are based in large part on a transportation survey done that surrounded Wells Ave (and nearby locations) looking at trip origination and destination. The goal was to provide a transportation link to an area of the city that has none in an effort to reduce car trips. It’s not a comprehensive solution for all transportation issues, but one designed around a specific location.
A number of options had been considered here, including bus and shuttle services, but I know that Nicole had long considered a flexible ride-sharing concept a better option.
No need for name calling and snark Greg. I don’t think Bob or I are acting as “Arm Chair City Planners” We are offering observations and opinions as long time regular commuters on the Green Line. And I believe we both qualified our posts that we hope we are wrong.
Wow, Greg, have NOT missed your snarky tone one bit.
I am appreciative with what they’re trying to do, just wish there weren’t still such large pockets of Newton that don’t really have solid access to public transit.
Yeah. I violated my own no snark rule and had my comment removed. My bad.
What I should and will say is that I believe we should applaud any effort to address the last mile needs of our workers and residents. I’m sure this pilot program will need adjusting over time but that’s the beauty of an on-demand system as opposed to a fixed route system, it’s easier to adapt based on real time input.
I would also see this as a test / learning attempt. Try, evolve. …. Test and Learn. Don’t go full bore before you know it has legs. Common practice in many areas now. Start small … learn from actual usage … improve. Or pull plug and fail fast.
All that said, some fair ideas here!
I would hope (but understand due to cost) that the vehicals will be electric and can hold at least 7
If you google newmo2.0 there is no information. This is 2021; When you have a new transportation service but you can’t find anything out about it by searching the internet then you are not marketing it correctly. Who is the operator of newmo2.0? Is the City of Newton sponsoring this service? If so, is any city money going to subsidize it? This will suffer the same fate as all previous transportation services – when the grant runs out it will be cancelled. What is the purpose of newmo2.0? Is it a welfare benefit? Is it an indirect subsidy to wealthy real estate developers / landlords? Is it to reduce “greenhouse gases” so that China can continue to burn coal while we cripple our economy?
Interesting idea. Will be interesting to see how this works out.
There’s a direct relationship between what we pay, and how much inconvenience consumers/commuters are willing to accept.
Have said all along, if getting people out of cars (and addressing climate change) is the PRIMARY objective, public transportation should be free. There’s a lot less to complain about in terms of service…when it’s free AND we’re fixing the environment.
NewMo looks like the love child of public transit and Uber/Lyft, with the best qualities of each, but very limited in its reach. And like MaryLee said, how the locations are described about is a bit of a head scratcher. The first bullet makes sense but why would someone need a ride on a regular basis from one Commuter Rail stop to another, or across (3) D Line MBTA stops. Why not just stay in the trolley and save the 2 bucks?
Is there more to it that I’m missing. Will NewMo pick me up and my house and drop me off at either of those T stops for $2? Or is this a B2B service, and only businesses can use? #confused
Reposting in the right place….
@Matt: This program — and the state grant that’s providing the start up cost — grew out of a desire to help get workers (and the case of William James College and Mont Ida, students) to public transit to and from Wells Ave/Mt. Ida. It’s since been expanded to allow residents and workers in other parts of the city use it too thanks to the technology and the fact that Via, the same vendor that runs the NewMo system for Newton’s seniors, was the successful bidder and is already serving the entire city’s geography.
As for the price….free transportation isn’t free. Someone has to pay for it. The grant dollars will only go so far.
For this program, businesses, colleges and nonprofits are being recruited to sign up for corporate memberships which will “buy” them a number of “free” rides for their employees, students, customers, etc. (all managed by the app) This involvement will likely be the biggest underwriter of the costs long term, charging everyone else $2 is still a lot cheaper than Uber/Lyft and a lot more sustainable.
@Matt I agree that public transportation should be either free or simply much more affordable. There’s a question of how to pay for it, and personally, I’d love to see a VMT tax on all private personal vehicles (as opposed to commercial vehicles) with that revenue being used to pay for public transportation infrastructure.
But I also believe there are fixes we can make TODAY that would get people out of cars. I just returned from a bike trip through Central New York on the Erie Canal Trail/ Empire State Trail. This is a bike route that is entirely separated from cars running from Albany to Buffalo. But what I found most interesting was the section through Syracuse, in which the state built a cycle track down the middle of Erie Boulevard. That road is very much like Route 9 in that it’s a busy four-lane road with strip malls and box retailers on either side. The state’s commitment to bike infrastructure means that people can easily get from their homes to shopping by bike without having to fight with cars. It can be done, and we can make it happen. We just need to want it. Frankly, state funding would help.
Needham Street will have separated bike lanes, and that’s certainly a start. But there is so much more opportunity.
Good post. I am glad that Newton, Massachusetts, is launching a new commuter focused transit system next week. Riders can request rides through an app or by calling their local dispatch centre.
So, it will only travel between the specific locations within the 3 groups. Ie not your home address..
?
If true, the last group of traveling between 3 T stops is kind of strange
This starts to make sense now that Greg mentioned its targeted towards business memberships.