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What Moves Dorchester Cyclists

In October 2023, the MBTA closed the entire Ashmont branch of the Red Line and the Mattapan Trolley for a 16-day repair surge. In response, Green Streets teamed up with A Better City (ABC) to enable and promote bicycles and bikeshare as effective ways to connect people with fast, free service on the nearby Fairmount Commuter Rail. 

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Working with a number of other partners, ABC coordinated the following: 

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  • published a resource page at bit.ly/try-biking,

  • made Bluebikes passes freely available,

  • installed wayfinding signs along key routes, and

  • had field staff at Ashmont and Fields Corner stations ready to lead people on the short ride to Talbot Ave Station.

Here is a short video giving you a sample of who we heard from about cycling in Dorchester.

To complement this effort, Green Streets conducted individual rider surveys to help uncover the challenges and opportunities associated with biking in Dorchester. We did this through a series of field-recorded interviews and also hosted an online video portal accessible to participants via computer or smartphone. (View our survey questions here.)

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The dominant themes that emerged from the responses we collected include the desire for better bike infrastructure, the benefits of greater access to biking, and experiences of freedom and community provided by biking.   

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Below is a breakdown of those themes, in participants' own words. 

Infrastructure and Safety
Freedom