Case Study: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA - The Ride)

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) provides paratransit service to sixty towns and cities in and around Boston. With over 800 vehicles, the MBTA completes more than 1.9 million trips each year. Their paratransit service, called THE RIDE, is contracted to three companies: Greater Lynn Senior Services, Joint Venture TTI/YCN and Veterans Transportation Services.

The MBTA has long realized the benefits of ITS technology. Beginning with their first system in 1999, MBTA's THE RIDE paratransit program has continually reassessed their technology needs as their service grew. In 2003, the MBTA selected a transit ITS solution from Mentor Engineering and StrataGen Systems which improved scheduling, routing, dispatching and reporting for the MBTA and their contracted companies. As the contract expiration date approached in 2009, the MBTA again began to re-evaluate their technology needs.