Will link MVRTA and MBTA
January 24, 2007
BOSTON- Representative Michael A. Costello is pleased to announce an agreement between the MBTA "The Ride" and MVRTA "EZ Trans.” The new arrangement will link the two services which provide door-to-door transportation for ADA paratransit-certified individuals.
Qualified residents of Newburyport, Amesbury and Salisbury will be able to travel outside of the MVRTA region and into the greater Boston area, serviced by the MBTA. Those interested can access the service by calling the MVRTA office of Special Services at 978.469.6878 and using option 3. An application process is required for potential passengers.
This new service is set to begin on January 29th. Passengers will transfer from EZ Trans to The Ride at the Topsfield Fire Station.
"People with disabilities will now have the same access as the rest of my constituents to quality public transportation and to all the places that transportation can bring them," said. Rep. Costello. "I thank the Newburyport Commission on Disability for bringing this matter forward and the MVRTA and the MBTA for working to arrive at a practical solution to make the connection."
“I would like to express my appreciation on two levels,” said Newburyport Mayor John Moak, “to Representative Costello for his diligence in bringing about this change and to the Newburyport Commission on Disability, and in particular Tom Lyons, for promoting this idea.”
“I think it's a tremendous advance for people with disabilities," said Tom Lyons, Chairman of the Newburyport Commission on Disability. "All the work done by the commission here in Newburyport and the intervention of Representative Costello's office has finally brought door to door service to people in wheelchairs. That makes all the difference in the world."
"It's a great example of what a political office can do for its constituents that not many people may know about, but makes a tremendous difference for the people who use it," Lyons added. "I can get in my car and drive to Fenway. People in wheelchairs cannot."
"It was just a matter of two systems getting together and talking about our operational aspects," said Joseph Costanzo, MVRTA Regional Administrator. "Finding that common ground allowed us to make the connection."
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