The term “reverse commute” traditionally has been associated with an easy drive to work, but it’s rapidly gaining a new meaning in the form of growing mass transit options for Massachusetts workers.
Ridership on shuttle buses run by the state’s 11 transportation management associations increased 37 percent in 2012 to 5.7 million, aided by nearly $14 million in contributions from the private sector. Federal grants awarded this year topping $2.6 million also support the shuttles that connect business parks and neighborhoods with MBTA lines.
The shuttles fill gaps in the state’s mass transit network. They’re increasingly sought by companies in suburban office parks trying to attract young city-dwelling talent, as well as Boston and Cambridge companies that have moved to the suburbs and want to retain employees.
“Some of the smaller biotech startups that have incubated in Cambridge have branched out into the suburbs for larger lab space. These shuttles are a tool for these companies that are moving to areas where public transit isn’t as abundant,” said Patrick Sullivan, director of policy and outreach for the 128 Business Council.
New shuttles starting this fall enable Red Line riders to reach the Hartwell Avenue business district in Lexington and connect Natick and Wellesley neighborhoods to Woodland Station on the Green Line.
The 128 Business Council coordinates shuttle buses from the Red Line’s Alewife station to business districts in Lexington, Needham and Waltham. Ridership has increased an average of 12 percent in each of the last three years, Sullivan said. All but one of the Alewife shuttles are self-sufficient, with commercial property owners providing the bulk of the funding not paid by fares, Sullivan said.
Grant Helping
Aided by a $123,000 grant, the newest route launched on Sept. 10 serves the Hartwell Avenue business corridor in Lexington. It provides door-to-door pick-up at seven commercial properties, most of which are approximately a half-mile from the nearest MBTA bus stop.
The shuttle is designed to increase the marketability of roughly 820,000 square feet of vacant office and lab space in Lexington, said Melisa Tintocalis, the town’s economic development director.
The Job Access Reverse Commute grants are an offshoot of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, and are designed to make mass transit commutes more convenient for low-income workers.
The demographic profile of riders has changed over the years to include more high-tech workers, said Michael Lambert, deputy administrator of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
“Certainly the most visible part of it is young people from Somerville and Cambridge going to high-tech jobs. The goal is you’re meeting a broad array of needs, which is public transportation at its best,” Lambert said.
College students and reverse commuters to MetroWest are expected to be among the heaviest users of a new shuttle bus connection to Woodland Station in Newton on the Green Line.
An online survey garnered more than 800 responses, many requesting reverse commute shuttles, said Ed Carr, administrator of the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority.
“The thing that people want most is that connection to the Green Line at Woodland because that opens up reverse commute opportunities,” Carr said.
The new route is modeled after the Route 9 shuttle that travels from Woodland Station to the Staples headquarters in Framingham. When the service launched in 2010, organizers expected that would be used primarily by Metrowest residents headed into Boston via the Green Line.
“What we found is the majority of the riders are reverse commuters,” Carr said. “They’re people coming from Brookline and Newton and Boston who are transit-savvy, but they can’t use the commuter rail.”
