Wellesley group presses for regional bus service

By Derek McLean, Town Correspondent

Bus service could come to Wellesley if the town adopts a recommendation to join the Metro West Regional Transit Authority.

Joining the transit authority would expand the town’s options for establishing one or more bus routes within the town, according to a report released by Wellesley’s Public Transportation Working Group. More services and routes may be developed in the future, according to a release.

“Our goal was to make recommendations that would create the greatest opportunity for improved service with little or no tax impact,” said selectwoman Ellen F. Gibbs, a member of the transportation group. “We feel that the MetroWest RTA, with its established track record of outstanding service, provides the greatest chance for success at the lowest cost and least risk.”

“The short-term goal of joining the MWRTA is to allow the town opportunities to achieve a fixed-route bus service, opportunities that the town does not currently have under the status quo or could not reasonably expect to achieve under other alternatives considered,” said the report, which was the culmination of a yearlong review.

The report also recommends the establishment of a Transportation Analysis Group to monitor demand, and evaluate ways to improve public transportation services, the release said.

The Public Transportation Working Group was commissioned by the selectmen to study transportation alternatives.

Board members Gibbs and Owen H. Dugan are both active members of the group.

Other members include Metropolitan Area Planning Council and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Advisory Board Representative Frank Dimasi, Deputy Director of General Government Christopher Ketchen, Planning Director Meghan Jop, Assistant Planning Director Michael Zehner and Sustainable Energy Coordinator Molly W. Fairchild.

Derek McLean can be reached at dbmclean1@gmail.com.

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