The Community Transit Grant Program operating and mobility management cycle is an annual grant program funding projects to expand and enhance mobility for older adults and people with disabilities. Examples of eligible projects can include operating transit services, running volunteer driver programs, coordinating transportation services, and hiring staff to assist riders in learning to use transit options. Traditionally, MassDOT uses Federal Transit Administration Section 5310 funding to fund this grant program. This year, state Education and Transportation Fund (ETF) funding through the FY26 budget provided an additional $4 million for this program and the opportunity to expand the scope to cover low-income riders as well as older adults and people with disabilities. MassDOT is pleased to announce grants to 40 organizations for 47 projects, totaling $5.48 million in awards.
| Organization | Project | Project Summary | Total Award |
| Attleboro Young Men’s Christian Association | Community Access to Rides Program | Support for a coalition of nonprofits serving older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals to purchase rides when no other transit options exist | $46,200 |
| Berkshire Regional Transit Authority | BRTA Travel Training Program | To continue and expand the BRTA Travel Training Program that offers training on how to ride BRTA buses, focused on those in affordable housing developments, senior independent living facilities, and Senior living in rural areas in the Berkshires | $11,560 |
| Berkshire Regional Transit Authority | Senior Rural Transportation in Berkshire County | To continue providing paratransit rides to residents, over 60 years of age, in communities that lack access to transit and without Council on Aging transportation programs within the BRTA service area | $332,142 |
| Brockton Area Transit Authority | Avon/Stoughton Beyond ADA | To continue to extend paratransit services in Avon, Stoughton, and Brockton beyond the current ADA corridor | $65,701 |
| Brockton Area Transit Authority | BAT Flex Bridgewater | To operate same-day paratransit and on-demand microtransit services for seniors in and around the Town of Bridgewater | $500,000 |
| Brockton Area Transit Authority | BAT Flex Rockland | To sustain BAT's microtransit service in Rockland, which focuses on serving older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals | $104,485 |
| Cape Ann Transportation Authority | CATA Access for All | To fund rides that are priorities for local agencies but outside CATA's standard operations for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income individuals | $200,000 |
| City of Lynn | Regional Mobility Manager: Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC) | Fund a mobility manager to assist older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals in accessing existing transportation options | $100,000 |
| City of Pittsfield Senior Center | RideForward | Support COA transportation | $50,000 |
| City of Quincy Council on Aging | Quincy Council on Aging Enhanced Mobility Initiative | Support the City's Council on Aging transportation program | $75,000 |
| Family Service Association | Vehicle Restorations | Support for maintenance for vehicles serving older adults and people with disabilities | $14,000 |
| Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority | MedWheels | To continue funding the existing MedWheels service that provides long-distance medical transportation to seniors and people with disabilities in GATRA's 30 communities | $321,707 |
| Greater Lynn Senior Services, Inc. | MoveSafe/ Mobility Links | Mobility management, travel training, and driver cessation for older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals | $100,000 |
| Healthy Aging Martha's Vineyard | On-island Transportation Solutions for Older Adults | To operate shuttles and a volunteer driver program to support rides for older adults on the Island | $145,654 |
| Helping Our Women | Healthcare transportation for rural women living with chronic or serious health conditions | To support HOW's mobility management work to assist patients in accessing existing transportation options with chronic or serious health conditions in the rural towns of the Outer Cape | $135,000 |
| Lowell Regional Transit Authority | Mobility Outreach Coordinator | To fund a mobility outreach coordinator position to strengthen relationships with partner service providers, councils on aging, and community service organizations | $67,056 |
| Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority | Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA) Mobility Manager Transportation Coordinator | To provide funding for a full-time mobility manager/travel trainers/transportation coordinator position at the VTA to assist older adults and people with disabilities in accessing VTA, COA, HAMV, and other transportation options on the Island | $132,000 |
| MeVa Transit (Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority) | Let’s Go! With Meva | To provide travel training to seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals to address the growing need for hands-on education as MeVa transitions from a flag stop system to a fixed bus stop network. | $178,720 |
| Montachusett Enterprise Center, Inc. | Regional Transit Data and Community Engagement Initiative | Community outreach and engagement to ensure older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals are included in regional planning and the implementation of the region's Mobility Master Plan, as well as data collection and regional transportation coordination | $74,470 |
| Mystic Valley Elder Services (MVES) | Mystic Valley Elder Services Mobility Management | Continue a long-standing mobility management program assisting older adults and people with disabilities in accessing existing transportation options | $105,618 |
| Mystic Valley Elder Services (MVES) | TRIP volunteer driver program | Support for a volunteer driver program, where older adults recruit their own drivers | $50,000 |
| Nantucket Regional Transit Authority (NRTA) | NRTA mobility manager and travel trainer | To hire a travel trainer and mobility manager to help educate seniors, people with disabilities, and others about NRTA's services including its new on-demand service, as well as other transportation options | $149,280 |
| Norfolk County RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) | Norfolk County RSVP ‘Rides for Vets’ Service | To support the Rides-for-Vets volunteer driver program that helps veterans access transportation medical appointments | $10,000 |
| Northern Essex Elder Transport, Inc. "NEET" | Vital Voyages II: Ensuring Equitable Medical Access for Older Adults in the Merrimack Valley | Operate a volunteer driver program on behalf of 13 Councils on Aging | $150,000 |
| Old Colony Planning Council- Area Agency on Aging | OCPC-AAA Older Adult, Disabled, & Caregiver Volunteer Transportation & Alternative Transportation program. | Support for volunteer driver programs across multiple Councils on Aging | $12,386 |
| Pioneer Valley Transit Authority | Beyond ADA | To expand access for older adults and those with disabilities to low-cost transportation within their communities, as well as ensure access to medical care in neighboring communities | $364,649 |
| Pioneer Valley Transit Authority | Travel Training Program | To continue PVTA's Travel Training program offered to older adults and people with disabilities to learn how to use the fixed-route public bus system safely and independently through personalized one-to-one instruction, group orientation, and train-the-trainer sessions for human service agencies | $122,531 |
| S.C.M. COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION | Enhanced and Expanded Transportation Options for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities | Support regional transportation for older adults and people with disabilities | $50,000 |
| ServiceNet, Inc. | Ticket to Work Transportation Access Project | To provide door-to-door evening and weekend rides for people with disabilities participating in the Ticket to Work (TTW) program when other transit options are not available | $175,000 |
| Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services | SCES Transportation Hub | Mobility management to assist older adults and people with disabilities in accessing existing transportation options | $75,000 |
| South Shore Community Action Council, Inc. | South Shore Senior Transportation Collaborative (SSSTC) | Medical transportation for older adults with limited mobility in partnership with ten COAs and South Shore Elder Services | $100,000 |
| Taking People Places, Inc. | FY2026 TPP-CTGP Funding | Support for a coalition of nonprofits serving older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals to purchase rides when no other transit options exist | $90,000 |
| Town of Acton | CrossTown Connect | Support shared COA and other transit dispatch across multiple towns | $75,000 |
| Town of Andover, Elder Services Division | Enhanced Community Transportation Services | Offer supportive rides to people needing door-through-door transportation, such as to supportive day programs and anesthesia appointments | $60,000 |
| Town of Brookline Council on Aging and Senior Center | Brookline Council on Aging Transportation Program | Support COA transportation | $50,000 |
| Town of Lexington | Financial Support for Lexpress Bus | Support the Lexpress bus, which serves older adults, people with disabilities, low-income individuals, and the general public including youth | $100,000 |
| Town of Millbury, Senior Center | Millbury Senior and Accessible Transportation Expansion | Support COA transportation | $24,053 |
| Town of Needham | Needham Council on Aging Medical Transportation Program | Long-distance medical rides for older adults when no other transit option is available | $15,000 |
| Town of North Reading | North Reading COA transportation | Support for municipal Council on Aging transportation | $75,000 |
| Town of Ware - Quaboag Connector | Quaboag Connector | Demand-response transportation serving seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals in 10 rural towns | $525,000 |
| Town of Westport Council on Aging | Door to Door Transportation Services | Support COA transportation for people who need additional assistance | $30,000 |
| Tri-Valley Inc. | Tri-Valley Transportation Grant Program | To provide non-medical rides for older adults, those with a disability, Veterans or dependents of a Veteran, and caregivers in South Central Massachusetts when other options are not available | $260,000 |
| Up Island Council on Aging | Up Island Council on Aging Community Shuttle | Expand COA transportation in three rural towns through shuttles | $54,085 |
| Weymouth Elder Services | Weymouth Elder Services Non-Medical Transport | Support COA transportation | $15,000 |
| Worcester Regional Transit Authority | Holden to Worcester - Extended Service Hours | Rides for older adults and people with disabilities in Holden when COA transportation is not available | $8,000 |
| Worcester Regional Transit Authority | SCM Elderbus - ReadyBus Service | Employment transportation services for older adults, people with disabilities, and others as space allows in Charlton, Southbridge, Sturbridge, and Webster | $60,000 |
| Worcester Regional Transit Authority | SCM Elderbus - Midday Shuttle | Expand service during mid-day hours for older adults and people with disabilities in 22 communities | $25,000 |