{"id":5827,"date":"2021-10-29T14:22:22","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T19:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mnrtap.us\/?p=5827"},"modified":"2021-10-30T14:59:11","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T19:59:11","slug":"microtransit-in-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mnrtap.us\/microtransit-in-minnesota\/","title":{"rendered":"Microtransit in Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exploring Microtransit Service as a national trend and in Minnesota<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Published on:<\/strong> October 29, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n

Over the past few years, the transit industry has slowly been hearing the term \u201cmicrotransit\u201d being mentioned. It\u2019s a growing trend in transportation, but what exactly is microtransit? This article explores the definition of microtransit, the history and development, the associated pros and cons and a glimpse at two Minnesota transit agencies that have implemented this service for their customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is \u201cMicrotransit\u201d?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Although microtransit can be a little difficult to define since the concept varies from location to location, the basic definition is that microtransit is a mixed form of demand responsive and fixed route transport, which relies on technology as its driving force.<\/p>\n

SAE International<\/a> describes microtransit as \u201ca privately or publicly operated, technology-enabled transit service that typically uses multi-passenger\/pooled shuttles or vans to provide on-demand or fixed-schedule services with either dynamic or fixed routing.\u201d<\/p>\n

National RTAP<\/a> describes microtransit as \u201cTech enabled shared transportation that lives in the space between traditional fixed route transit and ride hailing technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

History of Microtransit<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The concept of providing flexible transit service in smaller vehicles is not new. The terms \u201cflexible routing\u201d or \u201cdynamic routing\u201d have been used for a long time. However, the term \u201cmicrotransit\u201d has come about only in the past six to seven years. Why? Microtransit often relies on data and technology to power its service. Using software, agencies can geo-localize transit, passengers can book trips in real-time and use the app to pay online. The main goal of microtransit is to expand service geographically and demographically.<\/p>\n

Pilot Programs<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Several U.S. cities began pilot microtransit programs in the last six years. In Los Angeles, the L.A. Metro launched its \u201cMetro Micro<\/a>\u201d on-demand service in December 2020 in two Los Angeles neighborhoods and has since added seven more zones. Metro Micro provides these shared rides for $1.<\/p>\n

King County Metro in Washington State offers their Via to Transit<\/a>, Crossroads Connect<\/a> and Community Ride<\/a>\u2014 all on-demand services. King Country Metro began piloting these services in 2020 and continued the pilot into a second year.<\/p>\n

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority launched a one-year pilot titled RideKC Bridj in 2016. In 2018, KCATA partnered with Johnson County, Kansas to launch RideKC<\/a> in January 2019. Between January and July 2019, there were more than 12,000 trips.<\/p>\n

Public transit agencies in Minnesota started to offer microtransit service as early as 2015.<\/p>\n

Pros and Cons of Microtransit<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Pros:<\/p>\n

Microtransit in Minnesota<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are at least three public transit agencies offering microtransit in Minnesota. Two are located near the Twin Cities, and the third is in St. Cloud.<\/p>\n

SouthWest Transit Prime<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"SouthwestIn 2015, SouthWest Transit<\/a> (SWT) started Prime<\/a>, the first service of its kind in Minnesota. Like other microtransit services across the country, this on-demand, curb-to-curb service uses scheduling software to book and route ride requests. Prime can be used throughout the SWT service area, which includes the southwestern suburbs of Minneapolis, and to limited locations outside the service area.<\/p>\n

According to SWT Chief Operations Officer Matt Fyten, SWT saw a need for a lower cost local service option for riders and an increase in demand for first mile\/last mile services.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior attempts at traditional circulars\/demand response services were cost prohibitive,\u201d said Fyten. \u201cThe use of technology, and a tech-savvy population allowed for this microtransit service to be provided with less staffing than traditional dial-a-ride service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fyten presented at the Minnesota Public Transit Association (MPTA) state transit conference in October 2021 and shared statistics for the service and lessons learned. The PowerPoint<\/a> is saved on the MPTA website. He also was a guest presenter for MnDOT\u2019s Greater Minnesota Shared Mobility Program February 2021 \u201cMicrotransit: technology for better on-demand service\u201d webinar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fyten shared that while Prime ridership dropped immediately with COVID-19, its ridership is recovering quicker than fixed route. As of late October, it up to 75 percent of pre-pandemic ridership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic required us to rethink the service,\u201d said Fyten.<\/p>\n

A few of examples of how they changed service to regain ridership lost during the pandemic included starting a discounted \u201cGrocery Getter Service\u201d to promote ridership during off-peak times when capacity is greater, and it allows scheduled rides to and from the Shakopee area to promote ride batching. It also allows scheduled rides on its 494 Service with trips to Southdale, Normandale and Mall of America, as well as to the MSP Airport. The airport rides can be schedules up to 14 days in advance.<\/p>\n

St. Cloud Metro Bus ConneX<\/strong>
\nIn 2019, St. Cloud Metro Bus<\/a> started trialing a microtransit service called ConneX<\/a>. Like SW Prime, ConneX provides curb-to-curb service on demand. ConneX riders must call to request a ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf approved more permanently, we would like to add app-based scheduling requests to the service,\u201d said Dave Green, Chief Operations Officer for Metro Bus. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t in the budget to invest in that technology for the trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trial was initially scheduled to last six months but was extended to a year to collect more data. Then, due to COVID, it was extended through the end of 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cMetro Bus started ConneX in response to ridership and access concerns on a fixed route that served Sartell,\u201d said Green. \u201cThe city is difficult to serve with a fixed route because of the spread of housing, lack of connecting streets and the fact that it is divided by a river.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metro Bus assesses ConneX performance on a regular basis, reviewing:<\/p>\n