MOVEMENT GRANT REGIONAL GATHERINGS
As part of the 2026 Impact grant cycle, we added in Movement Grants – providing opportunities for our members to host Regional Convenings throughout the state as a way to educate and organize within their own communities.
At these convenings, movement grant recipients have been taking the lead in developing curriculums that address local priorities and issues, discussions on transportation policies and recommendations in alignment with T4MA, fostering movement-building and inspiring collective community-driven solutions with community members, stakeholders, elected officials and other policy-makers.
Learn more about the convenings below!
On Monday, March 16, 2026 it was a full house in Fall River for the town hall event. Students, community members, advocates and state and local electeds all joined together.
Students and community shared personal testimony on how free buses have changed their lives and how public transit is a life line to them.
There were representatives from labor, student and business groups who spoke about the impacts on free buses to their relative fields, while T4MA spoke to relevant bills and how important funding the area’s regional transit authority is. We heard from a local organizer about the journey of bringing South Coast Rail to Fall River and New Bedford and its impacts on the region.
State and local electeds responded to community testimony and advocates with proposals on what they can do to support the needs of the community and continue to build out equitable transportation options for the area.
Healthy Air & Transportation Showcases
Local advocates and community members attended the two open forums, to learn about air quality in Western Mass, how it’s impacted by transportation, and simple ways to advocate for cleaner air for their communities.
Tuesday, March 31, 2026 – Greenfield, MA
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 – Holyoke, MA
Participants had the opportunity to write in support of clean air and transportation legislation that were all hand delivered to legislators at the Statehouse.
The event held information on local bus services and youth engagement, and activities like learning how to identify different tree types and how trees and learning how to make your own air filtrations system at home.
Boston Neighborhood Bike Forum
On Saturday, April 4, 2026, the Boston Cyclists Union re-launched the Boston Neighborhood Bike Forum – an event they piloted over 8 years ago.
The Boston Cyclists Union made an intentional effort to bring back the Boston Neighborhood Bike Forum as a way to connect communities, uplifting Black and brown voices, and hold space for essential conversations in the transportation world.
With that they re-launched the event this year welcoming mobility leaders and Black and Youth of Color to share opinions on safety and where it is lacking in the neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde Park.
The Boston Neighborhood Bike Forum is a safe space for conversations around mobility justice and will continue to be an annual part of BCU’s programming.
On Saturday, May 2, 2026, Transportation for Massachusetts, the Brockton Workers Alliance, and the New England Community Project convened with Brockton residents to ride the new fully electric BAT buses on routes 2 and 8 and gain insight into their lived experiences.
These electric buses are noted for being quieter, cleaner, diesel-free, and ADA accessible. During the experience we learned the BAT serves an average of 12,000 riders daily across 12 fixed routes, including two that travel beyond Brockton, connecting to Ashmont and Stoughton. The service maintains a 99% on-time rate with transfers, even on longer routes like the 50-70 minute trip from Brockton to Ashmont.
We were joined by BAT leadership so community members could gain knowledge of what it takes to operate a Regional Transit Authority, and riders were able to share positive feedback regarding the helpfulness of BAT bus operators and encouraged the use of the Transit app to show them how to navigate BAT routes and show accurate bus times..
We want to express gratitude to BAT leadership, including Michael Lambert and Kelly Forrester add title, Bus Operator Michelle, Brockton City Councilor Carla Darosa, Brockton Workers Alliance (BWA), New England Community Project (NECP), and involved advocates and residents.
