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Rideshare Revenues to Fund Improvements in Melrose, Mass.

Approximately $38,000 from the Rideshare Special Revenue Fund for 2018 and 2019 will be used for general safety upkeep and roadway maintenance, including traffic calming and other safety elements.

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(TNS) — The City of Melrose recently received close to $38,000 from the Rideshare Special Revenue Fund for rides starting in the city in both 2018 and 2019.

The state wide Rideshare Special Revenue Fund is based on rides from services like Uber and Lyft, and is used to address various infrastructure in cities impacted by rideshare services. The funds can also be considered "special revenue" to update programs that support alternative means of transportation, municipal roads, and bridges.

Each year, Melrose receives a payment based on 10 cents per ride by rideshare companies starting in Melrose. In 2018, 172,571 ($17,257.10) rides started in Melrose, and 207,087 ($20,708.70) rides started in Melrose in 2019. A total of 379,338 rides began in Melrose in the past two years, for a total of $37,965.80 given to the city.

"In 2019, 567 rides a day started in Melrose," Melrose Department of Public Works Director and City Engineer Elena Proakis Ellis said. "It's crazy to think how many Uber and Lyft rides are actually taken in a given day, and that a portion of that money is given back to the city."

Ellis presented the acceptance of the funds from 2018 and 2019 to the Melrose City Council in mid-September. Due to the leadership transition in the DPW, the 2018 funds were never accepted.

Both the 2018 and 2019 funds will be used directly for general safety upkeep and maintenance, including traffic calming and other roadway safety elements such as solar feedback signs, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, and new crosswalk accessible ramps and signage. Other projects include those related to community safety and aesthetics on the city's streets.

The use of the rideshare funds is proposed to be designated as needs arise in Melrose, like recommendations from the DPW with the Police Traffic Safety division and new crosswalk locations desired by the Melrose community.

The city of Melrose and the DPW has to report to the state by the end of the calendar year what they intend to do with the rideshare funds.

"This fund is a great opportunity to spend money on street and traffic safety within the city," Ellis said.

©2020 Wicked Local North, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.