On May 16, 2024, the MPO voted to release the FFY 2025 UPWP for a 21-day public comment period. The public comment period will run from May 17 to June 8, 2024. Please contact UPWP Manager,
Srilekha Murthy, to provide feedback about the plan or set up a time to talk.
What is the UPWP? The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) is a one-year budget and planning document that lists the research projects, technical assistance, and other activities the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) staff will undertake over the next federal fiscal year (FFY). These projects provide insight and recommendations to our municipal and regional partners, generate new data, and help shape concepts for the region’s transportation future. It's what we were soliciting projects for back in January.
The draft document can be found here: FFY
2025 UPWP
Of greatest interest to this board is probably chapter 4, which outlines the studies and technical assistance projects that were selected for funding. This year those include:
"Bluebikes and MBTA Connections" - Budget: $60,000
Anticipated Outcomes: MPO staff will leverage openly accessible Bluebikes trip data and station location data, in addition to transit station location and route data from the MBTA, to construct a framework that can classify which Bluebikes trips can be categorized as complementary and which ones seem to be substituting for transit. We intend to apply this framework to understand how these relationships change by space (across different neighborhoods) and time (across seasons). Time permitting, we may also explore the application of this framework to examine the effect of recent transit servicedisruptions. The anticipated outcome of this study is a report that describes the framework and outlines the findings from the application of this framework. Additionally, the report will include recommendations about how more complementary connections can be designed between Bluebikes and transit, which will help inform the expansion of the Bluebikes network to new municipalities.
Roadway Pricing: Balancing the Need for a Transition to Sustainable Mobility with Equity Considerations - Budget: $50,000
Anticipated Outcomes: Using data from the Massachusetts Vehicle Census and Replica (a large mobility data provider),MPO staff intend to examine vehicle-miles traveled by different communities within our region. Such an analysis will allow us to provide estimates of revenue generated by different pricing strategies (such as cordon pricing around a particular central zone, or a direct tax on miles traveled). It would also be possible to examine the disparate impacts of such policies on different communities and, thereby, advocate for targeted discounts or subsidies for environmental justice communities and those who are forced into car ownership by a lack of high-quality alternatives. The anticipated outcome of this study is an interactive visual document (such as a StoryMap) or report describing the different hypothetical roadway-pricing scenarios that were considered and summarizing the results of the scenario analysis.
Decarbonizing the Freight Sector: Exploring the Potential for Using E-cargo Bikes for First- and Last-Mile Freight Deliveries - Budget $40,000
Anticipated Outcomes: MPO staff will identify past, ongoing, and planned e-cargo bike pilots and programs across the country. Having created this list, staff will reach out to key personnel involved in these efforts to interview them about their experience of the key challenges and opportunities associated with such initiatives. These interviews will inform a follow-up analysis of which locations in the Boston region (or the Inner Core) might be suitable for establishing neighborhood freight hubs. Finally, MPO staff will provide recommendations for municipalities aiming to establish such hubs and use e-cargo bikes for first- and last-mile freight deliveries. The anticipated outcome of this study is a report that will describe past, ongoing, and planned e-cargo bike pilots across the country, summarize the key findings from the interviews, and provide recommendations for the establishment of neighborhood freight hubs supported bye-cargo bikes for first- and last-mile freight deliveries in the Boston metropolitan region.
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The technical assistance programs are the same as they have been, this is our direct service to municipalities where we act as essentially free consultants. Thought what is nice to see is that there is a modest expansion of the budget that will allow us to either take on a fifth project instead of the usual four or to take on some larger work.
