Sudbury Council on Aging tightens Uber and taxi ride caps amid cost surge

SUDBURY — September 16, 2024 — Sudbury cuts subsidized Uber and taxi caps as monthly costs jump to roughly $14,000. Council on Aging Transportation Committee chair Bob Lieberman told the Sept. 16 board meeting that the Uber program now allows four one-way rides per month and taxi six, after monthly spending rose from "maybe eight or nine thousand dollar a month range" to "closer to 13 or 14 thousand dollars a month." A voucher and co-pay model is under discussion. The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority's Catch Connect on-demand service and the Sudbury-Wayland-Boston hospital shuttle will both run fare-free through June 2025 after Catch Connect carried 66 riders by mid-month. Director Debra Galloway reported 511 different individuals had used Senior Center programs in the first two and a half months of FY25, and said a new assistant director and outreach coordinator would start Sept. 30, finally filling a position open since January.