Via's service in Cupertino, California is a shared, on-demand transit service that connects to the Sunnyvale Caltrain station. With a goal to make transit accessible to all, Via Cupertino offers passengers with disabilities door-to-door service and a 50% discount on every ride. We caught up with a rider, Dmitry, to ask him about his experience riding Via Cupertino.
Dmitry, a visually impaired teacher who works with visually impaired students, is unable to drive and relies on Via to travel to and from his job in Cupertino. Though Dmitry no longer lives in Cupertino, he is able to get there by taking the Caltrain to the Sunnyvale station, then connecting to Via to get to work.
Dmitry has over six years of experience as a teacher of students with disabilities, and first-hand experience seeing just how impactful Via can be for the visually impaired. Dmitry travels between various school sites to teach, sometimes traveling upwards of three times a day — and for school sites within Cupertino, he can rely on Via to get around. “It certainly makes my job easier,” Dmitry reflected.
Dmitry teaches his students to use certain devices and programs while helping them develop "self-determination" skills, as he puts it, including when on public transit. This includes using mobile apps like Via to show students how to get around. "A handful of the students I and my colleagues work with are high school [students] and adults who live within the Cupertino city limits,” he explained. “That makes them very good candidates for Via’s service.” He further appreciates Via Cupertino's drivers: for being so “friendly and they’re confident with making sure we feel safe and comfortable” when traveling with Via.
“It is very nice to have something that can work just as well just without the cost of other services.”