CHESTERFIELD — Microtransit is paying off as every $1 invested in Hilltown microtransit balloons to $23 in economic return, according to a new study by the Donohue Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
That’s $4 million of economic growth in the area from 2022 through 2025 driven by three Hillside Easy Ride vans. Meanwhile, these vans are giving Hilltowns residents freedom and relief from rural isolation.
Hilltown Easy Ride offers services for residents in Blandford, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Plainfield, Russell and Worthington.
Some 40 years ago, Dave Christopolis, executive director of the Hilltown CDC, was 16 years old, growing up in the rural environs of western Massachusetts. His main objective was saving money to buy a car.
“That car was freedom to me, man,” he said. “You’re not going anywhere around here without a car.”
Just 20 minutes from Chesterfield, the transit environment is worlds apart, said state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton. When her daughter turned 16, she had no problem getting herself around Northampton.
“She didn’t need a car. She walked to school, she took the bus, she rode her bike and she was able to get everywhere she needed — and a lot of places I didn’t want her to go, but she was able to do that,” she said.
But that’s not true in the Hilltowns, she said.
Some 3%, or 136 households, in the region Hilltown Easy Ride serves lack vehicles, the report found. And 66 workers in that area don’t have a vehicle.
“Imagine you are that person who is supposed to get to work every day, and you have no way to do that,” Sabadosa said.
The uphill battle for transit in the Hilltowns was discussed last Thursday as part of a forum on microtransit services in the Hilltowns as well as two other rural areas of the state. The meeting took place at the Community Center in Chesterfield.
The UMass-led report showed that the benefits of microtransit extend beyond giving people freedom, including the ability to receive medical care, get to work and go grocery shopping.
The services also serve as economic generators.
Michael McNally, a senior research analyst at the Donahue Institute, said the researchers measured several types of economic impact, including employment and wages supported by work trips and medical transportation.
Microtransit differs from traditional fixed-route public transportation by offering smaller, on-demand rides, often picking riders up at their homes and taking them directly to their destinations. These services also wait to bring people back home. Riders are typically charged as little as $1.
The report showed that in 2025, shopping was the number one use for Hilltown Easy Ride, accounting for 1,669 trips. Medical trips came in second with 1,556, followed by rides to councils on aging, with 530.
The other two microtransit services studied in the state are the South County Connector in the southwestern corner of the state and Helping Our Women on the eastern end of Massachusetts, including Provincetown. Together, the three services completed 27,000 rides.
In total, the services generated $25 million in economic impact, according to the report. Hilltown Easy Ride generated the largest return on investment, generating $23 for every $1 invested.
Flexibility is particularly important in rural areas, McNally said, where residents are spread across large geographic areas and often must travel outside their communities for medical care, shopping and work.
“Microtransit allows for flexibility,” McNally said. “Depending on the needs of riders and the capacity of the service, they may offer rides for jobs, medical appointments, errands and social events.”
The Hilltowns also have an aging population and slow job growth, Sabadosa said, making transportation an important part of the region’s economic future.
Sabadosa pointed to recent investments such as Link 413, which connects Northampton and Pittsfield and includes stops in the Hilltowns, as examples of how regional transportation networks can be expanded.
“We have to figure out how to support them,” Sabadosa said. “And transportation is part of the picture.”
The three regions studied share several characteristics, according to the report. They are rural and heavily dependent on automobiles, have limited services locally, require residents to travel outside their communities for many needs and have older populations than the state as a whole.
Since 2017, Hilltown Easy Ride has operated three vans, along with a pool of volunteer drivers who use their own vehicles. Rides are generally scheduled in advance by phone or through an app, and some vehicles are wheelchair accessible.
But the services’ small scale does not diminish their importance, McNally said.
“These services offer flexibility that rural residents really need,” he said. “It allows them to fill transportation gaps in rural communities, making people get to important appointments and stay connected to their community.”
Stakeholders interviewed for the report said they want expanded schedules, more types of trips and greater availability for riders of different ages. They also called for better coordination between microtransit services and existing bus and rail networks.
McNally said the economic figures ultimately do not capture the full value of the services. Microtransit can allow older residents to age in place, help people remain employed, connect residents with friends and family and reduce isolation, he said.
“That’s a huge benefit,” McNally said. “These services allow that to happen, making regions more livable.”
