Word on the Street: How to use microtransit data, FTA’s new grant, and other transit news.

9 ways cities and transit agencies can use microtransit data.

Arguably one of the most valuable aspects of on-demand transportation comes from the rich information that municipalities can collect about every ride as they seek to connect more people to transit and reduce single occupancy vehicles on the roads.

But not every mobility technology company chooses to share their data with cities. Some guard it closely in the name of protecting key competitive business indicators like revenue, pricing models or demand, or in order to shield the impact they have on the environment.

What kind of data should municipalities gather from their on-demand transit service? And once that data is captured, how can it be used to provide value to the community? Here are some ideas of how cities can use their data for a larger impact.

What we're watching.

FTA ALLOCATES $11M FOR INNOVATION: The Federal Transit Administration just announced $11M in funding for its Accelerating Innovative Mobility, which promotes forward-thinking approaches to transit.

Our Take: One of the biggest roadblocks to piloting new ideas in transit is funding, so this is a phenomenal way to spur innovation in cities that are itching to make a change. Interested in partnering with us on your application? You know who to call.
Read the FTA announcement.

NYC’s STRUGGLING PARATRANSIT: New York City lawmakers are calling-out Access-A-Ride for failing to provide anything close to high-quality service for paratransit riders.

Our Take: The 170,000 residents that depend on Access-A-Ride are riders who need reliable transit the most. We agree with these lawmakers that there are opportunities to transform "Stress-A-Ride" into a much better and cost-effective service.
Read more in the Gotham Gazette.

DITCHING PLANES AND SHARING RIDES: Greta Thunberg set an example by crossing the Atlantic in a zero-emissions yacht. Now tens of thousands are pledging to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint.

Our Take: Ditching air travel is a prohibitively drastic move for many, but simply sharing your ride has a real impact. A single passenger vehicle produces 171 grams of CO2 per km, while sharing a four-passenger vehicle is just 43g/km.
BBC has the story.

CITIES EXPERIMENT WITH BUSES: Cities looking to overhaul their public transit are specifically tinkering with bus routes — how to make them better, how to attract more riders, and whether or not to make them free.

Our Take: As transit agencies retool their routes and service, one new method many agencies are considering is on-demand transit, which easily extends the reach of existing fixed-route networks.
Read more in the Wall Street Journal.

News At Via.

Partner News.

Building the next generation of shared transportation is keeping us extremely busy. We announced our first major venture into the school bus industry by partnering with the New York City Department of Education — the largest school district in North America — to dynamically route its nearly 10,000 school buses. And did you hear about our new fleet of on-demand autonomous vehicles in Irvine?

We also announced upcoming microtransit services in Jersey City, Birmingham and Atlanta. That’s combined with officially flipping the “on” switch at our new deployments in Cupertino, Tokyo, Northwestern University, Northeastern University, Helsinki, Canada, and major expansions in both Austin and Australia.

From launching the first fully electric fleet in the UK to paratransit to university safe ride programs to corporate employee microtransit shuttles, Via is transforming the way the world moves.

It’s only been a few short months since our last update, but we have plenty of exciting news to share about our new partnerships around the world.

In January, we launched in Sacramento, California, which is now the largest on-demand public transportation network in America. If you didn’t already know, Via also powers the largest such deployment in the world in Berlin, Germany, with a fleet now exceeding 180 vehicles.

We also worked hard to launch new on-demand transit partnerships in Salt Lake City, Birmingham, South Australia, Fortaleza in Brazil, Lyon and Aix in France, as well as Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Plus, Timaru in New Zealand announced it chose Via for its city-wide transportation overhaul in 2020, and our popular projects in Arlington, Goiânia, and Malta grew significantly. Our partners in Los Angeles also just voted to continue its pilot and expand hours of operation.

Also, did you hear about our congestion-reducing partnership with LaGuardia Airport in New York, or our fast-charging electric vehicle project with Shell in Amsterdam?

Via is transforming the way the world moves, and we’re just getting started.

Where we'll be next.