Rethinking transit in America’s fastest-growing cities: Lessons from Sioux Falls

An overview.

What happens when growth outpaces your transit system? Sioux Falls, one of the Midwest’s fastest-growing cities, didn’t wait – they innovated. In this webinar, Mayor Paul TenHaken shares how the city stepped back and rethought its transit network as a whole. 

The key takeaways:

• Public entrepreneurship creates the conditions for real transit change.
  Mayor TenHaken framed Sioux Falls’ approach around a simple idea: when systems are financially unsustainable, maintaining the status quo is the biggest risk. By being transparent about tradeoffs, honest about uncertainty, and open to experimentation, the city built trust and momentum for change—rather than waiting for decline to force it.

• Great transit starts with networks, not modes.
  Sioux Falls’ redesign reflected Via’s core belief that fixed routes, microtransit, and paratransit are most powerful when planned and operated as one system. Each mode was used intentionally—fixed routes where frequency and speed matter most, on-demand service where flexibility and coverage unlock access—connected by technology that guides riders to the best option for each trip.

• Commingling demand is what makes efficiency sustainable.
  By introducing citywide on-demand service, Sioux Falls was able to pool demand-responsive trips and reduce duplication across the network. Just as importantly, real trip data revealed where fixed routes were the more efficient solution, allowing the city to continuously rebalance service as travel patterns evolved.

• The impact showed up in everyday outcomes for residents.
  The reimagined network expanded transit coverage to the entire city, increased access to jobs and essential services, grew ridership, and lowered cost per trip—while reducing complaints during rollout. For riders, that meant more opportunity and reliability; for city leaders, it meant a system that delivered measurable results without increasing budget pressure.

• Transformation begins with writing RFPs for the future, not the past.
  Sioux Falls’ progress was enabled by an RFP that invited innovation rather than reinforcing legacy models. By signaling a need for integrated networks, data-driven decision-making, strong change management, and continuous improvement, the city created a competitive environment aligned with where transit needs to go—not where it’s been.

About the speakers.