Belmont’s Seniors Have Transport Options

By Nava Niv-Vogel

Belmont’s adults over the age of 60 and people of any age with disabilities can get around without driving thanks to transportation services provided by the Council on Aging (COA). Most rides are provided by well-trained COA-funded drivers, and the three-vehicle fleet has many safety and disability-friendly features. In the era of COVID-19, COA drivers have also been practicing special safety protocols. The vehicles are routinely cleaned for airborne and surface germs. 

The rides offered are curb-to-curb. The passenger needs to be able to walk or otherwise get themselves to the van. Drivers are not permitted to provide hands-on balance assistance or to wheel passengers in wheelchairs. The COA asks that passengers needing assistance provide their own escort. 

Rides are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, although there are several exceptions. The Supper Club program, rides to the Belmont Housing Authority sites, and rides to the Saturday food pantry take place after hours. 

Priority rides are for medical destinations that are in contiguous municipalities including Cambridge and Arlington. Most residents seek rides to health care offices at Mt. Auburn Hospital, Concord Avenue, and at the Waverley Primary Care right here in Belmont. Rides are also available to the adult day health program in Arlington and any non-medical destination within Belmont including hairdressers, libraries, banks, nursing homes, friends’ or relatives’ homes, and the Beech Street Center. 

To schedule a ride, passengers need to call the COA as soon as they are aware they need a ride. Same-day booking is possible, space permitting. Group grocery shopping rides include twice-weekly rides to the Belmont Star Market on Tuesdays and Fridays and rides to the Burlington Market Basket on the first and third Thursdays of every month. This shopping service includes assistance from a driver who may carry up to five bags of groceries from the supermarket into the vehicle and from the curb to the passengers’ home. 

Two additional COA transportation services do not involve COA drivers or vehicles, but rather taxis and volunteers. Thanks to a special grant from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council awarded to the COA, a limited number of free Belmont Taxi rides are available to seniors. Destinations can include health care facilities that are beyond the service area of the COA vans. Taxi rides can also be scheduled after hours or whenever Belmont Taxi is open for business. These grant-funded rides need to be booked through the COA. 

The volunteer driver program was suspended due to the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020, but COA hopes to resume the program soon. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer driver, please call Marty Cloherty, Transportation Coordinator, at 617-993-2989 to apply.

Volunteer drivers from the community must be vetted through the COA. Passengers typically seek these  rides to destinations that the COA either does not serve or cannot accommodate after hours. Passengers are matched by the COA with available drivers who transport them where and when they want. This service is free, but passengers are responsible for parking costs and tolls. 

The COA also offers counseling on other transportation options, such as registering for the MBTA’s Ride program, Springwell’s  transportation escort service, and specialized private transportation. 

The COA also counsels seniors on using their smartphones to book rides through ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft. Seniors can also sign up with GoGo Grandparent, a company which handles the technical aspects of booking Uber and Lyft rides. 

The Beech Street Center offers Charlie Card registration clinics sponsored by State Senator Will Brownsberger’s office. For guidance on outside transportation options or Charlie Card registration, call the COA.

The COA also leads the town in planning for future transportation to seniors and residents of all ages. The Age Friendly Advisory Council recently developed an action plan.

The main goals of the transportation part of the action plan are: 

• Developing of parking options for older residents   
• Promoting safe bikeway use 
• Developing an internal transit system which connects the town’s commercial districts
• Expanding the  COA-based volunteer driver program 
• In addition, it was recognized that the town could be made more walker-friendly to older residents. 

The new Parking Permit Program entitles Belmont residents over the age of 65 to free two-hour parking spots in municipal lots located in Belmont Center, Waverley Square, and Cushing Square. Permits are issued through the COA for $5 per year. To make an appointment for a parking permit please call the COA.

The long-term goals for Walkable Belmont are:

Create more paths that minimize walking hazards throughout the town 

Ensure that there are enough long and accessible paths available that older adults can sustain a robust and healthy workout 

Improve and maintain physical safety on pavement and paths, including snow and ice removal on sidewalks

The COA looks forward to working with other departments and stakeholders in the newly appointed Age Friendly Action Committee to realize these goals over a three- to five-year period.

For any questions involving the Age Friendly Action Plan, please call the COA director Nava Niv-Vogel at 617-993-2975 or nnivvogel@belmont-ma.gov.

The COA is committed to making many modes of transportation available to the community in the present and for the future. For information about any COA transportation program, please call the COA at 617-993-2970.

Nava Niv-Vogel is director of the Belmont Council on Aging.