Metrowest Chamber of Commerce

There is a new choice for local commuters going into and out of Boston, and reverse commuters traveling from the city to key locations in Framingham and Natick.

The MetroWest Daily News’sJulia Spitz, who took the maiden voyage of the the new MetroWest Regional Transit Authority’s first bus route, reported (March 13) that it began at MWRTA headquarters on Waverley Street, in Framingham, made a first
stop to connect riders to the Boston-bound Cavalier Coach, which leaves from the 9/90 Interchange, and then a second stop to link up with the Peter Pan bus that departs for Boston from the movie theater complex on Flutie Pass.

The MWRTA bus, a comfortable 16-seat 2009 El Dorado, then moved along Route 9, making it a choice for people coming and going from MassBay Community College in Wellesley, the Wellesley Office Park, “or almost anywhere else along the route that stretches from Framingham’s Staples Drive to the Green Line [Woodland] stop next to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital,” Spitz reported. The inbound run, which has a stop at the MathWorks, in Natick’s Apple Hill complex, took less than 45 minutes. Busses are now scheduled for morning and evening at $3 per round trip, but with growing ridership, “we’ll be able to fill the middle part of the day,” said MWRTA Administrator Ed Carr.

Sen. Karen Spilka told Spitz and other fellow riders: “This is something we desperately need.” Rep. Pam Richardson added: “It’s absolutely vital to my constituents.” A selectman from Sherborn, which is working on a shuttle to link to the new service, believes it will help the municipality’s finances: it would be an option for seniors who need to get into Boston for medical appointments but who currently use the Council on Aging van.