Audit of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority Overview of Audited Entity

This section describes the makeup and responsibilities of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority

Massachusetts Regional Transit Authorities

Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws established regional transit authorities (RTAs) and defined the roles and responsibilities for these authorities, the municipalities in which they operate, and the Commonwealth. According to Chapter 161B of the General Laws, RTAs are controlled by the municipalities in which they operate. Each RTA is governed by an advisory board composed of elected officials from the community (e.g., city manager or mayor), as well as one representative of the disabled commuter population¹ and one representative of the local rider community. The advisory boards appoint administrators, establish bylaws, and approve budgets and changes to RTA services.

Section 53 of Chapter 6C of the General Laws makes the Rail and Transit Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation “responsible for overseeing, coordinating and planning all transit and rail matters throughout the commonwealth,” including intercity buses, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and RTAs.

Source: Massachusetts Department of Transportation—Rail and Transit Division (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/public-transortation-in-massachusetts)

Currently, there is a network of 15 RTAs operating in the Commonwealth, in addition to the transit services provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. These RTAs serve a total of 272 cities and towns outside the greater Boston area. RTAs are funded through a combination of state appropriations, federal grants, local governments, fares, and other sources. State appropriations for the 15 RTAs increased from approximately $80 million in fiscal year 2018 to approximately $94 million in fiscal years 2021 and 2022.

Americans with Disabilities Act–Required Paratransit Services

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 recognized that some individuals’ disabilities prevent them from using a fixed-route² transit system. Section 37(F) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which covers the transportation and related stipulations of ADA, states,

Each public entity operating a fixed route system shall provide paratransit or other special service to individuals with disabilities that is comparable to the level of service provided to individuals without disabilities who use the fixed route system.

The above regulation also establishes minimum levels of service that RTAs must provide for complementary paratransit services.

Lowell Regional Transit Authority

The Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) was established in 1976, in accordance with Chapter 161B of the General Laws, to oversee and coordinate public transportation within the Lowell area and reports to the Rail and Transit Division under Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009.

According to LRTA’s website, its mission is “to provide convenient, comfortable, safe, reliable, cost‑effective mobility services contributing to the economic vitality of the region.”

An advisory board oversees LRTA’s operations. LRTA’s administrator, hired by the advisory board, is responsible for day-to-day administration of the agency. LRTA has a network of 19 local fixed-route bus services, 11 routes in Lowell and 8 suburban routes. The local fixed-route bus service operates six days a week. LRTA provides transportation services to 14 cities and towns of greater Lowell: Acton, Billerica, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Lowell, Maynard, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, and Westford.

LRTA contracted with First Transit Management of Lowell, Inc, a privately operated company, to provide transit management and operation services for its fixed-route bus services during our audit period. LRTA entered into a contract with MV Transportation on May 31, 2019 to manage and operate Road Runner transportation services³ for ADA-required paratransit and demand-response⁴ transportation services. All ADA-required paratransit and demand-response services provided during the audit period were administered using a transportation software called RouteMatch.

MV Transportation employees record ride data in the RouteMatch system electronically through tablets or manually from the daily driver manifests. Each month, MV Transportation generates monthly summary performance reports and submits these to LRTA. This summary ride data includes early, on-time, and late trip performance percentage totals, which the LRTA administrator compares to LRTA performance goals. LRTA includes the performance information in monthly reports to both the Federal Transit Authority and Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

ADA Paratransit Complaints

ADA paratransit complaints are complaints related to ADA-required paratransit services. According to Section 27.13 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, transportation programs that receive federal funding must adopt complaint procedures and designate a responsible employee to coordinate these procedures.

ADA paratransit complaints, submitted by riders, can be made by phone, mail, email, or in person at the paratransit office. MV Transportation’s paratransit general manager or paratransit operations manager documents the complaint on a complaint form. The paratransit general manager has two days to investigate the complaint, determine whether the complaint warrants further action, and report the findings to the complainant. If a complaint warrants further action, the employee or driver receives training and/or appropriate discipline as determined by the paratransit general manager. The MV Transportation paratransit general manager tracks complaints monthly by category and reports complaint totals to the LRTA administrator on the monthly performance report.

LRTA Paratransit Ridership Information

The table below summarizes LRTA’s paratransit information for fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021.

	Fiscal Year 2019	Fiscal Year 2020	Fiscal Year 2021
Number of Active Riders	4,638	3,548	2,619
Number of Trips	51,291	39,266	31,466
Number of Miles	312,630	254,161	209,222
Number of Drivers	10	8	7
Number of Vehicles Used	13	11	9

LRTA Funding Sources

In fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021, LRTA received revenue from a variety of sources, including federal, state, and local assistance. The table below shows the types of funding LRTA received during fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Type of Funding	Fiscal Year 2019	Fiscal Year 2020	Fiscal Year 2021
State Assistance	$    3,608,306	$    3,828,326	$    4,039,189
Local Assistance	2,931,945	3,005,244	3,005,244
Federal Assistance	2,738,871	3,132,447	4,306,181
Fixed-Route Income	1,324,536	996,214	460,288
Paratransit Income	144,179	104,361	68,790
Terminal Revenue	1,363,559	1,161,362	278,234
Other Income*	302,873	507,435	77,683
Other Transit Service**	0	0	348,424
Total	$  12,414,269	$  12,735,389	$  12,584,033

*      Other income is from advertising, interest, and miscellaneous sources.

**    Other transit service revenue is from a Sunday transportation service pilot program.

1.    According to Section 5 of Chapter 161B of the General Laws, “This representative shall be mobility impaired, have a family member who is mobility impaired, be a caretaker of a person who is mobility impaired or work for an organization that serves the needs of the physically disabled.”

2.    Fixed-route transportation services or transit systems have established routes, schedules, and stops.

 

3.    Road Runner transportation services include ADA-required paratransit services for individuals with disabilities who are unable to ride LRTA’s fixed-route buses and Senior Dial-A-Ride services for residents within the LRTA service area who are 60 years of age or older.

4.    Demand-response transportation services are non-fixed route services that must be requested by riders and scheduled by dispatchers through a transportation service.

Date published:	June 7, 2023