Shift Towns · Massachusetts
Walking, biking & transit in Cambridge
See the routes Cambridge neighbors actually walk, ride and take transit on, what's happening locally, and how the town is trending — built from real trips logged in the Shift app.
Keep a pulse on Cambridge. New street projects, meetings worth your voice, and how Cambridge is moving — 1–2 emails a month.
Get involved in Cambridge
Safer streets are made by neighbors who speak up. Start small:
Cambridge - Memorial Drive redesign petition (Cambridge Bicycle Safety)
Cambridge Bicycle Safety is petitioning the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) to redesign a four-mile stretch of Memorial Drive along the Charles River, from JFK Street to the Longfellow Bridge. The petition asks DCR to pilot a slower neighborhood-street design, build continuous separated walking and biking paths, and convert underused median land near MIT into public open space. Read their full case and add your name at the link.
Read the petition→- Report a street problemCambridge SeeClickFix→
- Comment on a street projectStreets + Transportation Projects Hub→
- Get project updatesCambridge Active Transportation Report→
- Suggest a stationSuggest a Bluebikes station→
- Get ride alertsCommunity bike ride alerts→
In Cambridge
City committees you can join
- Cambridge Bicycle Committee — Resident volunteers who advise the city on making biking safer and easier — meetings are the second Wednesday of each month at 344 Broadway, and anyone is welcome to attend. (cddat344@cambridgema.gov)
- Cambridge Pedestrian Committee — A resident committee focused on making walking safe and pleasant citywide — it usually meets the fourth Thursday of the month, 6-8 p.m. at 344 Broadway, and the public is welcome. (cddat344@cambridgema.gov)
- Cambridge Transit Advisory Committee — Residents who give the city and MBTA feedback on bus and train service in Cambridge — it meets monthly, and the city expects to seek new members in late 2026. (transit@cambridgema.gov)
Advocacy groups
- Cambridge Bicycle Safety — The resident volunteer group behind Cambridge's Cycling Safety Ordinance — join their email list, weekly Tuesday Zoom meetings, or community rides to help complete the citywide network of protected bike lanes. (info@cambridgebikesafety.org)
Commuter perks & fare help
- Alewife TMA — Free shuttles, Emergency Ride Home, and carpool and bike-commute incentives in Cambridge's Alewife/Fresh Pond district, via member employers and residential buildings. (director@alewifetma.org)
- Charles River TMA — Runs the EZRide shuttle — open to the general public — between Boston's North Station and Cambridgeport via Kendall Square, plus Emergency Ride Home and other commuter programs. (info@charlesrivertma.org)
Bike share
- Bluebikes in Cambridge — The city's guide to Bluebikes, the bike share system Cambridge co-owns with twelve neighbouring municipalities — how it works, where the stations are, and what a pass costs. Cambridge is on track to pass 100 stations this year.
Construction & closures
- City construction projects — Every street, sidewalk and utility project the city has in planning or under construction, filterable and viewable as a map. Each project page has a Contact tab where you can sign up for email updates on that street.
Your transportation department
- Cambridge Department of Transportation — The city department that manages Cambridge's streets — crosswalks, bike lanes, traffic signals, and parking — and plans improvements that make walking, biking, and transit easier. (cdot@cambridgema.gov · 617-349-4700)
Regional & statewide groups, 7 more
Advocacy groups
- LivableStreets Allianceregional — The Metro Boston advocacy group for people-centered streets and transit, whose research and comment letters cover projects across the region.
- TransitMattersstatewide — The transit advocacy group pushing for faster, more reliable buses and trains across Greater Boston, with data-driven campaigns anyone can join.
- Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA)statewide — A statewide coalition of community groups advocating for safe, affordable, and reliable transportation choices in every corner of the state.
- WalkMassachusettsstatewide — The statewide walking advocacy organization that leads walk audits and pedestrian-safety campaigns, with open network meetings on Zoom the third Wednesday of each month.
- MassBikestatewide — The statewide bicycling coalition — a way to plug into bike advocacy, group rides, and Bike Month events across Greater Boston and beyond.
Commuter perks & fare help
- MBTA reduced faresstatewide — Reduced-fare programs for seniors, riders with disabilities, people aged 18–25 on low incomes, and middle and high school students. Most cut the fare roughly in half.
Get updates
- MBTA accessibility alertsstatewide — Live notices when an elevator or escalator is out of service, plus how to arrange a shuttle when one is. Worth subscribing to if a lift is part of how you get to the platform.
Events near Cambridge
A few picks over the next 30 days — the full calendar has everything.
Roams to try
Guided routes — preview the full route here, then check in at each stop in the Shift app to earn the badge.
The Bakery Run
Starts 0.6 mi from central Cambridge · transit · 5.7 mi route · ~90 min · Greater Boston
The Sunset Pedal
Starts 0.7 mi from central Cambridge · bike · 1.6 mi route · ~10 min · Boston · Cambridge
A City of Squares
Starts 1.2 mi from central Cambridge · walk + transit · 4 mi route · ~36 min · Somerville · Cambridge
- #3 of 8
- Massachusetts towns by shift rate in October
- 609
- active trips so far in October
- 1,176
- active miles
- 1,047
- lbs CO₂ avoided*
- 72
- neighbors active so far in October
Shift Rate is the share of trips taken actively (walk, micromobility, transit). Counts cover October 1 through today, based on trips logged by Shift community members that start or end in Cambridge— a growing sample, meant as an interesting local signal, not an official or census-level count. *CO₂ avoided is estimated from active miles traveled (EPA 404 g/mi baseline).
Where Cambridge moves
New to Cambridge? You're joining a town that moves — neighbors logged 23,806 trips on foot, by bike, and on transit in the last 90 days, and Somerville Community Path, Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue are where you'll find them. A corridor appears only once three or more different people have traveled it — and it follows Cambridge residents wherever they go, including into neighboring towns, within about six miles of the town center.
Momentum
Active trips in Cambridge by week ending, last 5 completed weeks, and climbing.
Friendly competition
Massachusetts towns by shift rate so far in October, the share of trips taken actively. Every town here has its own page: local stats, popular routes, events, and ways to get involved. Cambridge is 1 point behind #1.
How Cambridge moves
Active trips and miles so far in October, by mode.
Share of trips
Share of miles
- Walking
- 312 trips · 213.2 mi
- Biking & scooting
- 165 trips · 418.5 mi
- Bus
- 45 trips · 136.7 mi
- Train
- 87 trips · 407.6 mi
What is this?
Shift is a free app from Green Streets Initiative, a nonprofit that has celebrated walking, biking, and transit since 2006. Shift automatically counts your walks, rides, and transit trips — every trip adds to Cambridge's totals on this page, earns you rewards at local businesses, and enters you into seasonal prize drawings.
Help Cambridge climb the board.
Every walk, ride, and transit trip counts automatically. Download Shift free and put your trips on Cambridge's board.
Community stats reflect trips by Shift community members that start or end in Cambridge and refresh hourly. Municipalities and community groups can request aggregate data at info@gogreenstreets.org. A project of Green Streets Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.