trip on an MBTA bus. Operations The Ride program is run by the MBTA, but actual service is contracted out to two companies in the Greater Boston area, namely NEXT (National Express Transit) and VTS (Veterans Transportation Services). Additionally, the MBTA contracts out call center services - including reservations, scheduling and dispatch - to a vendor (currently Intelliride, a subsidiary of Transdev). The MBTA uses vans and sedans for The Ride and uses the MBTA branding on all its Ride vehicles. The MBTA generally awards Ride contracts to Service Providers every five years. In September of 2019, the MBTA offered 50% of Ride trips to NEXT, 30% to MV Transportation and 20% to VTS for the next contract period after evaluating price points and technical abilities of each vendor. However, MV Transportation decided not to accept the contract offer, and in November 2019, the MBTA awarded 50% to VTS and 50% to NEXT. MBTA's the Ride services all areas serviced by MBTA bus routes. In March 2020, transfers between service providers were stopped temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 for health reasons and in June 2020, the MBTA decided to make that change permanent. Both service providers, NEXT and VTS, provide the Ride service in all of the Ride service area. On October 1, 2021, trips from Logan International Airport terminals that terminate within of the MBTA subway system became free, matching existing free inbound Silver Line trips from the airport. A new scheduling software, Routematch, was put in service in August 2020. In October 2021, the MBTA announced that Routematch would be replaced with the previous software, ADEPT, because of service issues with Routematch. Criticism The program has been criticized for its high cost to the MBTA, particularly since much of the MBTA was made accessible in the past three decades. During discussions of potential major fare increases and service cuts in 2013, the program's high cost per rider was cited as waste. As of November 2019, all MBTA Bus routes, Orange Line stations and Red Line stations are accessible as are all but one Blue Line station, all but one Mattapan Trolley stop, most Green Line stations, and most commuter rail stations. Many Ride customers use a combination of regular MBTA bus, train and trolley as well as the Ride paratransit service especially within the core communities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. Despite this, the number