Case Study
Wheels2U
Norwalk, Connecticut, USA
Urban
Commuting, First-and-last-mile, General transportation
4 vehicles
12 min
average wait time
5.5
average riders per vehicle hour
Overview
In 2018, the Norwalk Transit District (NTD) launched “Wheels2U” — an on-demand pilot service designed to grow public transit ridership and enhance connections throughout the City of Norwalk, Connecticut. Nine months into the pilot, the NTD sought to grow ridership and make service improvements, tapping Via to replace its previous on-demand transit technology provider.
In August 2019, the NTD relaunched the service with Via’s on-demand technology platform. Building on lessons learned from the pilot, Via designed the on-demand transit solution to optimize operations and facilitate connections to destinations throughout the City. The service reflects Norwalk Transit District’s vision to enhance social mobility and economic viability while addressing growing concerns over traffic and parking congestion.
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Solution
“Wheels2U” relaunched in August 2019 with Via’s state-of-the-art software platform. Through an easy-to-use mobile application, riders can request trips, in real time, and track the location of their assigned vehicle. Riders without smartphones can call live phone dispatchers to have a trip booked on their behalf.
Via’s technology pools passengers headed the same direction into efficient shared rides, and dynamically routes vehicles in response to live demand patterns and traffic conditions. The service facilitates travel to key destinations in the City, such as the South Norwalk neighborhood and the Maritime Aquarium, and provides first- and last-mile connections to two Metro-North stations in the service zone.
This is going to be a very large win for the district… It’s going to give us a very seasoned partner with this.”
Public transit is no longer a service of need but one of choice. By using this new technology, we are able to optimize existing services. We set our focus on the future by Re-Imagining Public Transportation.”
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