Note: Based on comments from Laura Ducharme, Acton Community Services Director, the Acton Exchange has made corrections to this story.
Actonians who travel car-free, either by choice or necessity, have several options in town for getting to work, medical appointments, stores, or the Senior Center, except on weekends or holidays.
Acton’s Cross Town Connect includes two separate services, with all rides free of charge. The Minute Van Dial-A-Ride (978-844-6809, or minutevan.net) offers door-to-door service with at least a twenty-four notice, and is wheelchair-accessible. Rides are available to Maynard, Concord, and parts of Littleton, Westford, and Boxborough.
The Cross Acton Transit (CAT) bus, also free of charge, makes nine daily runs on a fixed route, including six stops on Great Road, plus the Town Hall/library and the commuter rail station. The CAT does not stop at every location for every hourly run. For a complete route map and schedule, see the Cross-Acton Transit (CAT) page on the town website.
Since all runs begin on Great Road, a passenger wishing to travel northbound from Town Hall would be out of luck, and would be better off reserving the Minute Van. Almost half of the rides on Acton’s transportation systems (the CAT and Minute Van) are for medical appointments, with the balance spread out among those for shopping, work, and volunteering. To arrange a ride to a medical appointment, call the dispatch call center at (978) 844-6809.
Laura Ducharme at the Transportation Office said the town has four full-time drivers, with subs available, and provides about fifteen hundred rides per month, including two hundred forty-one in June just on the Minute Van. She anticipates the addition of an electric, seven-passenger van in the fall of 2025. The transit office moved to the Human Services building to provide better continuity of service for all Acton residents. For more details about Acton’s transportation options, go to acton-ma.gov, and click on Services, and then Transportation Services.
A third option is the Metrowest Regional Transit Authority’s (www.mwrta.com) 495 Connector Weekday Service, which offers a single-seat bus ride, currently free, partially along Route 85, linking eight towns and three commuter rail lines: Wachusett, Worcester, and Franklin/Foxboro lines (at South Acton, Southborough, and Forge Park/495 stations, respectively). However, the endpoints of the route, South Acton and Forge Park, are reached only in the morning and evening, having no mid-day stops. A map and complete schedule are available here.
Coming soon: A ride on the 495 Connector.
James Conboy writes about sports and other topics of community interest for the Acton Exchange.