Transportation causes concern among senior citizens
By Kate Daly Contributing Writer

Marlborough - Senior citizens have been making concerned phone calls to City Hall, the mayor's office and their City Council representatives, worried that their transportation to appointments and on errands is about to disappear. Their concern is based on letters they received from drivers for Assabet Valley Council on Aging (AVCOA) Transportation.

But city officials said that won't happen.

"We will do everything we can to make sure if there is a disruption in service, it will be a short one," Mayor Nancy Stevens told the City Council at its March 10 meeting.

The matter came before the City Council as Stevens discussed the city's transfer from the Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) to the Metrowest Regional Transit Authority (MRTA).

The city sought assurances last year from WRTA and MRTA that services for seniors would not be interrupted, Stevens said.

"Everyone gave us their assurance that there would be no problem," she said.

The city contracts for the service through the WRTA, and the MRTA plans to send out a request for proposal to contract for the same service.

"There should be no interruption of service," Stevens said. "We have a contract in place until June 30. When we join the MRTA, we will have an equivalent service."

A week before the meeting, WRTA sent e-mail to three of the five communities that use AVCOA's service for their elderly and disabled announcing that it would not renew its contract with the company when it expires June 20. Marlborough and Southborough, who plan to join MRTA, did not receive the e-mail, Stevens said.

The letter the AVCOA drivers handed out asked patrons "for your patience and cooperation over the next few months in booking and taking trips. We expect to be short staff ed as our employees prepare for their future."

City Council President Arthur Vigeant said a meeting with AVCOA to urge them to send in a proposal was met unenthusiastically.

"My comment to them was we didn't want to see any new scare tactics," he said. "I think it's inexcusable what they've been doing."

Vigeant noted that canceling the AVCOA service will not save the WRTA money.

"They get 70 to 75 percent reimbursement for the AVCOA program and we make up the difference," he said.

They don't lose money on it and they don't gain any money."

Stevens has been developing a contingency plan, she said.

"I have made informal calls to people who could help us out in a pinch," Stevens said. "Everyone I spoke to said, 'Give me a day's notice.'"

Ward 4 Councilor Peter Juaire suggested countering the AVCOA letter with one from the city assuring residents that their transportation would not be disrupted. Stevens agreed to send the letter, and also asked councilors to reassure their constituents and spread the word. Anyone with problems should contact her office, Stevens said.

Councilor at-Large Patricia Pope said she called AVCOA. She was told "in no uncertain terms" that she should call the "town" about any transportation problems.

"They really quite honestly could not have cared less," she said.

Pope initially raised the issue because of the calls she received from worried residents.

"They really panicked the seniors," Pope said after the meeting. "It's unfortunate because our most vulnerable citizens have been used as a ploy."