McMahon assisted the CRTMA in evaluation of its EZRIDE shuttle service in Cambridge and Boston. EZRIDE is a private fixed-route shuttle providing high frequency circulator service, linking residences, workplaces, and retail areas with buses, rapid transit, and commuter rail at Kendall Square, Lechmere and North Stations in Boston.

 

McMahon completed an analysis of the existing service, currently carrying over 2,400 passengers per day, as a precursor to developing plans for a future phase of expanded service operations. Analysis of existing service included extracting automatic passenger count data from the NextBus dataset and assisting CRTMA with a targeted bus deployment plan to create a reliable dataset, from which ridership patterns could be established.

 

McMahon developed an electronic survey for both existing and potential riders, as well as marketing materials to promote the availability of the survey. Over 1,800 responses were received, 800 of which were logged during the first week the survey was available.

 

Existing ridership patterns and service levels were assessed, using schedule information, passenger counts, and results from the online survey to determine potential improvements. The routes were evaluated based on demographics that constitute typical transit ridership, bus operational considerations, the pedestrian environment and connectivity with adjacent land uses, as well as projected employment and population growth, CRTMA membership potential, future development, and interaction with existing transit services, A sample service plan and implementation plan were developed for potential improvements for both existing and future riders to use as the starting point for implementing Phase III service.