Sharon In Early Talk Of Bus Service To Train Station

Sharon selectmen are exploring beginning bus service between two Sharon sites and the Sharon MBTA commuter rail station.

Transportation Advisory Board Chairman Art Stein recommended to selectmen Tuesday night that they contact the owners of Sharon Heights Plaza and the to "find out if they're receptive" to allowing Sharon resident-only commuter parking for this service.

Stein also recommended Sharon do a financial study and determine how much seed money it could commit to the program. He said he's unsure how much seed money is necessary.

Selectmen and Town Administrator Benjamin Puritz plan to contact the two property owners, while Stein and Puritz will work on the financial issues, Chairman Richard Powell said.

Powell asked Stein if gauging commuter interest made sense now.

"I think we're at a premature stage for that," Stein said.

Stein is recommending Sharon implement public bus service that would run to and from the Upland Road train station weekdays during the two peak and evening trains.

Each bus could carry 18 passengers, or 36 per day, Stein said.

Passengers would pay "no more than what they would pay for daily parking," although the fee has not been set, he said. Commuters pay $4 per day at the Sharon station, which has 542 parking spaces, according to the MBTA website.

Commuters would be required to reserve their seat in advance, by phone or online, Stein said. Online reservations would generate a code or boarding pass the commuter could hand the bus driver, he said.

The fee would be refundable only if the bus didn't run, "and, we would have the means to notify people well in advance of that so they could make alternate arrangements," Stein said.

The has two new buses, and the council's board wants to "increase the utilization," Stein said.

The service would "alleviate some of the demand for additional parking" at the train station, Stein said.

"It's not a big change, but it could be enough," he said.

Stein said the Sharon Department of Public Works indicates the train station parking spaces are oversold because "there's always some people who don't show up."

Even with overselling, there are 90 to 100 requests "that don't get filled," Stein said.