Something changed in Reading at the end of August 2026 and a lot of families have not caught up with it yet.

A free on demand shuttle called The Link launched on August 31st, operated by Circuit, funded through MassDOT's microtransit program as a one year pilot. It runs door to door across Reading, Wakefield, Burlington and Woburn, seven in the morning to seven at night Monday through Friday and nine to five on Saturday, and it goes directly to Lahey Hospital in Burlington and to Winchester Hospital. It is free for every rider, not just seniors. You book it through the Ride Circuit app or by phone.

If your parent lives in Reading and has an appointment at Lahey, that is very possibly your answer, and it costs nothing. Start there before you call anyone, us included.

Two caveats worth knowing. Reporting on the launch indicates at least one of the three vehicles serving Reading and Wakefield is wheelchair accessible, but that is not a guarantee that an accessible van is available for your specific booking, so ask when you book. And it is a one year pilot, which means it exists now and may or may not exist next summer.

The town van at the Pleasant Street Center

Reading's Elder and Human Services department runs out of the Pleasant Street Center at 49 Pleasant Street, phone 781-942-6794, open Monday through Thursday 8:30 to 4 and Friday 8:30 to noon. Transportation goes through the Coordinator at 781-942-6754.

The van is free for Reading residents aged 60 and over. Reservations are required at least 48 hours in advance, and the town says plainly that seating is limited. Riders must meet what the town calls standards of independence, meaning they need to be able to manage the trip themselves. There is a four bag limit, seatbelts stay on until the van has fully stopped, no food or drink, and one rule that tells you something about the vehicle: please refrain from cologne and perfume when riding on the van.

Published destinations lean heavily toward shopping: Walmart, Redstone Shopping Center, Woburn Village with its Target and Kohl's, Market Basket, Stop and Shop, plus neighborhood pickup routes. Woburn Village is an out of town destination, so the van does cross the line.

Here is where we will be straight with you rather than filling in a blank. Reading's own published materials do not say whether the van does medical appointments at all, how far out of town it will go for one, or whether it is wheelchair accessible. A statewide ride database lists the Reading Elder Services van as serving wheelchair users, curb to curb, Monday through Thursday 9 to 3 and Friday 9 to 1, free, for residents 60 and over or adults with disabilities. That is a credible source but it is not the town speaking. Call 781-942-6754 and ask three questions: do you do medical appointments, how far will you go, and can my mother stay in her wheelchair.

The two other Reading options

The RIDE. Reading is inside the MBTA paratransit service area. Trips book one to five days in advance, and you cannot book after 5 in the evening for travel the following day. Reduced fare cardholders pay $1.70 for a standard one way trip. Apply before you need it.

TRIP Metro North. Reading is one of the covered communities, along with Stoneham, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading and Wakefield. It reimburses mileage to a friend, neighbor or relative who drives you, and it is aimed at people who do not drive and do not qualify for The RIDE. Information at 781-324-7705. This is the most overlooked program in the entire region.

Where Reading residents get care

Reading has no hospital of its own, which is exactly why transportation matters more here than in a town like Winchester.

Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, 41 Mall Road, Burlington, 781-744-5100. Now directly served by The Link, free.

Winchester Hospital, 41 Highland Avenue, Winchester, 781-756-2314. Also directly served by The Link.

MelroseWakefield Hospital, 585 Lebanon Street, Melrose, 781-979-3000. Not on The Link's route. Note the main entrance closes overnight from 8pm to 6am and after hours you use the Emergency Department entrance on Rowe Street.

A useful cross check on the local medical geography: neighboring Stoneham's senior van publishes its destination list, and it includes the Reading Health Center along with MelroseWakefield and Winchester Hospital. That is the real catchment for this corner of Middlesex County.

Reading's specific driving problem

Reading sits where I-93, Route 128 and Route 28 converge, which is a gift for reaching hospitals and a nuisance at rush hour. From most of Reading you can be at Lahey in fifteen minutes at ten in the morning. The same trip at 4:30 on a Thursday is a different proposition entirely.

This matters more than it sounds for a wheelchair user, because the extra thirty minutes are not just time. They are thirty extra minutes seated in a chair, after an appointment, often after a procedure, sometimes needing a bathroom. When we schedule a Reading pickup we push for mid morning and we tell families why. If you are booking your own appointment, ask for the first slot of the day or something around ten, and avoid a return that lands you on 128 at five.

What none of the free options cover

Reading is genuinely well served right now, better than most towns around here, and we would rather you use the free options fully than call us out of habit. But there are specific things none of them do:

• Boston. The Link covers four towns. It does not go to Dana-Farber, Mass General, Brigham, Beth Israel or Tufts. The town van does not either. That trip is The RIDE, a relative, or us.
• Getting out of the house. Every service on this page starts at the curb or at the door. If there are four steps down from the porch and your mother uses a wheelchair, someone has to do that part, and it is a trained two person job. This is the single most common thing families do not plan for.
• Someone who stays. The Link and the town van both drop off and come back. Neither one sits through the appointment, hears the discharge instructions, or catches that your father did not understand the change to his medication.
• Unpredictable finish times. Dialysis and infusion do not end when they were supposed to. On demand booking helps a lot here, which is a real advantage of The Link over a scheduled van, but it still assumes the person can wait alone in a lobby.
• Under 60, for the town van. The Link is free for all riders, which makes it unusually useful for someone in their fifties recovering from surgery.

Do this before you need it

Download the Ride Circuit app and try The Link once, on a low stakes trip, while nothing is urgent. Get registered with the Pleasant Street Center at 781-942-6794. Ask the three unanswered questions about the town van. Start The RIDE application. That is one afternoon of work and it changes what your options look like the week something goes wrong.

Care Remedy provides wheelchair transportation, stair assistance and home care in Reading and across Middlesex County, from our office at 100 Tradecenter, Suite G-700 in Woburn. Call 781-957-8076.

Town van rules come from the Town of Reading's own published senior newsletter and department pages, MBTA figures from the MBTA. The Link details come from the Town of Wakefield's transportation page and local reporting on the August 2026 launch; the four town service area and the accessible vehicle are from that reporting rather than a town page, so confirm both when you book. It is a one year pilot and may change.