The 2024 Central U.S. Transit Summit in Chicago brought together a diverse group of transportation leaders from both the public and private sectors, united by a single goal: to improve access and equity through integrated transit systems.
The summit was a whole-day session packed with an opening keynote session, roundtable discussions, and Q&A lead by industry leaders. Transit experts from 24 agencies and cities shared their success stories of designing multimodal networks. Here are five key lessons that emerged throughout the day:
- Elevate transit through smart service design
- Diversify funding sources for a sustainable, long-term strategy
- Build on microtransit success by commingling paratransit
- Power up network redesigns with Remix
- Try a cross-agency or regional approach
Daniel Ramot, CEO of Via, gives a welcome speech at the 2024 Central US Transit Summit.
Elevate transit through smart service design.
🌟Takeaway: Using tech-enabled transit planning tools, planners can easily apply their service design principles to create transit solutions that achieve cost-efficiency and rider experience goals.
The Via Partnerships team welcomed participating transit leaders to the event.
Is microtransit feasible to my community? What are the key factors to consider when redesigning networks? When is the best time to expand existing services and introduce new ones?
In a Lunch & Learn session, Terence McPherson, a member of Via's Partner Success team who's worked with dozens of our partners on service design, gave an overview of the comprehensive resources the Via team uses to help cities and agencies better make service design decisions. He talked through options like Remix-based multimodal network simulations, transit redesign workshops, and transit consulting studies.
McPherson presented key considerations for microtransit service design in communities with an existing fixed-route network. He explains Via’s approach to service planning from three major parts:
- Start with best practices, but customize for each community;
- Different modes should be complementary, not competitive;
- Design services for people: ease, accessibility, and opportunity.
We provide resources to assist with service analysis & design.
Multimodal Network Simulation
1-2 hours
Transit Redesign Workshop
2-4 weeks
Transit Consulting Study
3-12 months
Diversify funding sources for a sustainable, long-term strategy.
🌟Takeaway: Identify and access multiple funding streams for turnkey services through public-private partnerships.
Hundreds of billions in fundings is up for grabs every year — however, local governments and agencies who lack grant application experience could be left out. In the summit’s Grants and Funding Workshop, Via’s in-house policy expert Rachel DiSalvo breaks down the process of finding the right grants step-by-step, and overviews different funding sources — including federal, state, local grants, and public-private partnerships — for innovative transit programs.
Finding the right grant for your agency.
Agency Goals
- What are your top priorities?
- Are you open to electric vehicles?
Community Need
- What would most benefit the community?
- Any partnerships that you can leverage?
Timeline
- Where are you in the process?
- Are you looking for a grant?
- Do you have existing charging infrastructure?
Rachel and her team have helped partners in 40+ US cities win up to $65 million in grants for transit projects, ensuring that even smaller municipalities can access the resources they need for development and growth. Via assists partners in turning pilot programs into long-term, sustainably-funded services. For instance, in Jersey City and Wilson, Via helped secure crucial federal and local funding sources that transform trial programs to a core part of how communities move in the long run.
Build on microtransit success by commingling paratransit.
🌟Takeaway: Develop a transit system that combines microtransit and paratransit to reduce operating cost, enhance efficiency and overall service quality.
In 2019, Trinity Metro introduced ZIPZONE — a multi-zoned microtransit service — in Fort Worth, Texas. Initially designed to increase first- and last-mile connectivity, the service performed so well that the planners decided to integrate ADA paratransit (the ACCESS program) into the on-demand service this year. By combining the two programs, Trinity Metro aims to significantly drive service efficiency and improve rider experience across both modes.
Alicia Walker, General Manager of Trinity Metro, stated the new system “will allow riders to effortlessly travel across their communities.” For Fort Worth residents, this multimodal integration expands transit options, especially for paratransit riders, ultimately improving quality of life and fostering a more equitable community.
Now, five years after its launch, Trinity Metro On-Demand, the new commingled service, has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing and most efficient microtransit services, measured by cost per ride and vehicle utilization.
Alicia Walker, General Manager from Trinity Metro, Forth Worth, Texas, shares how the agency uses on-demand microtransit to improve their entire transit network.
Power up network redesigns with Remix.
🌟Takeaway: Plan a network with stakeholder engagement at its core by visualizing demographic impact at every stage of your service redesign.
Ben Picone, Transit Planner from Metro Transit, Minnesota’s largest transit provider, and Brandon Songy, Service Planner and Scheduler from Capital Area Transit System (CATS) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shared their experiences using Remix for their network redesign projects. There are a few ways Remix helps planners streamline their process, engage stakeholders and the communities they serve, and evaluate their service changes at different granular levels. Features like Public View, Commenting, and Presentation Studio facilitate collaboration between departments, allowing for cross-team feedback on new service changes.
Songy highlighted his approach to using Remix to support microtransit planning and expansion. “Remix is a wonderful and powerful tool to plan for potential on-demand zones,” he says. Its integration with demographics, infrastructure, land use, and other data helps planners visualize the impact proposed microtransit services could have on their communities.
Try a cross-agency or regional approach.
🌟Takeaway: Foster partnerships between transit agencies to facilitate joint procurements that reduce costs and share resources.
In a session about regional transit collaboration, Katherine Conrad, Director of NEORide, explained the benefits of doing multi-agency planning and operation. Member agencies of NEORide — a coalition covering 9 states with 35 members — proved how. By jointly procuring the on-demand management software and Remix planning tool, NEORide brings together transit agencies from Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan to achieve scale-based pricing and reduce costs, making planning technology accessible to all. Any member agency has access to Via’s software to plan microtransit, paratransit, and fixed-route services.
- 📖 Read: Regional transit collaboration starts with Remix
- 📖 Read: Using TransitTech for regional and cross-agency collaboration
A few outstanding benefits of this regional collaboration approach include:
- It fills regional transit gaps and improves regional mobility (expanding the access to jobs and education opportunities in neighboring counties to drive economic growth);
- Provides a uniform experience across jurisdictions (using similar ride-booking apps, payment apps, etc.)
- Locks a more competitive price for transit planning and operations tools with third–party providers;
- Improves work efficiency through collaborative efforts. This sharing of resources — funding, infrastructure, expertise — can lead to cost savings and a more sustainable use of available assets.
What’s next?
Interested in participating in future events and connecting with your transit leaders community? Our next stop is Miami. We’ll explore how the latest technology works its magic to enhance everything from transit planning and scheduling to service design and paratransit operations. If you’re in the Southeast, sign up below, and join the movement towards a more integrated transit future, together with us.
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