MetroWest Regional Transit Authority


The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority is a regional public transit authority in the state of Massachusetts providing bus and paratransit service to sixteen municipalities in the Boston MetroWest. The MWRTA was formed in 2006 and began service on July 1, 2007, with the purpose of filling a void in public transportation service in the MetroWest. Funding for the MWRTA comes partially from the state and local governments of the communities it operates within.

Service

Routes

, the MWRTA operates 16 fixed routes that provide all-day service. Most operate seven days a week; routes 6, 10, 15, and the MassBay shuttles do not operate on weekends.
, the MWRTA operates 3 commuter shuttles that run Monday–Friday at peak hours, plus two hospital shuttles with limited Tuesday–Thursday service.
  • 495 Connector
  • Mathworks Natick Shuttle
  • MathWorks Framingham Shuttle
  • Framingham Natick Wellesley Boston Hospital Shuttle
  • Sudbury Wayland Boston Hospital Shuttle

    Paratransit

Per ADA requirements, the MWRTA provides paratransit service, which is branded as MetroWest Ride.

Microtransit

The MWRTA operates a microtransit service branded as Catch Connect., it is available in Wellesley, Sudbury, Hudson, Berlin, Framingham, Natick, Milford, and Hopedale, plus several destinations in other municipalities.

History

In 2006, an Economic Stimulus Bill passed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts included legislation pushed by Karen Spilka and other MetroWest area legislators. The legislation opened the possibility of a new Regional Transit Authority to be formed in the MetroWest region. The legislation states that any community providing an annual assessment to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority but not served directly by the MBTA may form their own Regional Transit Authority using that funding instead.
Under the advisement of the legislation, the MWRTA was created in Framingham with the neighboring communities of Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick, Ashland, and Wayland. At the time, Framingham had its own community bus system called The LIFT.The newly formed MWRTA was based on The LIFT. With this system, the communities of the MWRTA would have a basis for their new RTA.
As part of the growth of the MWRTA and due to Natick joining the system, Natick's own Neighborhood Bus system was incorporated into the MWRTA in the summer of 2008. Prior to the creation of the MWRTA, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority provided part of its paratransit service, called The Ride to Framingham and Natick. On July 1, 2009, administration of paratransit service to Framingham and Natick switched from the MBTA to MWRTA in alignment with the change in assessments paid to the MWRTA by those communities rather than to the MBTA.
MWRTA began microtransit service branded as Catch Connect in Wellesley in February 2021. It replaced fixed route 8 the next month. The service was expanded to Framingham and Natick on weekends beginning in July 2021. Saturday-only Catch Connect service in Hudson and part of Marlborough began in June 2022; it was expanded to weekdays in June 2023.
The MWRTA acquired larger transit buses in 2025 for use on route 4N, the system's busiest route.
State Fiscal YearFixed RouteDemand ResponseFull System
2013561,012124,369685,381
2014475,848113,836589,684
2015525,442118,327643,769
2016529,850176,524706,374
2017547,674228,835776,509
2018596,313231,325827,638
2019592,164208,608800,772
2020474,988147,082622,070
2021192,96866,763259,731
2022219,304119,022338,326
2023328,185151,591479,776
2024403,434160,043563,477
2025547,394200,057747,451
2026*678,744*228,762*907,506*

  • Estimated based on Q1 data.