By CHRIS COLLINS
(Photo courtesy of the FRTA)
(Greenfield, MA) – The Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) is partnering with a team of non-profit service providers and local businesses to launch a taxi service specifically designed to help Franklin County residents secure and keep late shift jobs. The taxi service will provide the transportation workers need to get to Franklin County businesses and home again.
The pilot program, funded through December 31, 2021, enables people who are just getting employed but may have transportation difficulties to sign up with the FRTA for taxi service to work. The program can also assist late shift workers who lose their transportation due to accidents, breakdowns, expensive repairs, or other challenges.
Anyone wishing to use the taxi service can get started by contacting FRTA Assistant Administrator, Michael Perreault, at (413) 774-2262 or michael@frta.org to set up a taxi contract. The deal can be short term or longer term and allows the rider free transportation for the first month of employment.
The pilot program is funded by a $150,000 grant from the Metro Area Planning Council (MAPC) that FRTA was able to secure by recycling a successful “micro-transit” grant proposal to MassDOT that was awarded and then withdrawn last year when the COVID lockdown began in March, 2020.