2016-05-09-TAC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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DRAFT -- Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Minutes May 9, 2016 Lexington Community Center, Room 245, 3:30 p.m. Members Present: Hank Manz, Co-Chair; Sara Arnold, Elaine Dratch, Francine Stieglitz, Craig Weeks Members Absent: Bill Levison, Co-chair; Sally Castleman Liaison: Nancy Adler, Council on Aging Staff: Charlotte Rogers, Human Services; Jeanette Rebecchi, Transportation Services; Elaine Celi, School Department Others: Anurag Wakhlu and Venu Appana, Sociali representatives The meeting was brought to order at 4:10 p.m. 1.Public comment: None 2.School Transportation: Ms. Celi reviewed efforts by the School Department to help students use buses to get to after-school activities. For High School and Middle School students the focus has been on the Flex-pass, which allows use of the school bus for getting to and from school and Lexpress for after school activities. At the elementary level, school buses are delivering students to specific programs in Lexington. Both programs have been well-received although the level of schedule complexity for the after-school elementary program is high. 3.Web Application (App) to Facilitate Carpooling: Mr. Wakhlu and Mr. Appana reviewed their newly created platform for allowing groups of people who know each other and may have comparable carpooling needs to connect via their App. The idea stemmed from their needs as parents to get their children to various after-school activities, including those just outside of Lexington that are not served by the school bus program. That said, the program is designed for use by any group of people with carpooling needs. Unlike services such as Uber, those using the system will only be contacting people who are known and have agreed to participate, i.e., there is “trust by association”. The App is about to be “rolled out”, and Mr. Wakhlu and Mr. Appana are now reaching out within the community to find people who are interested in joining. There is no fee to join. They welcome input that could improve their system, and appreciate anything the Town or Schools might do to share information about the program with residents. 4.Minutes: Minutes from the April 11, 2016 meeting were approved. Vote: 5-0 5.Selectmen Goals: There was a brief review of the 2015 recommended goals and Mr. Week’s suggested goal for an integrated transportation system. Mr. Manz agreed to create a list based on the discussion.