The Arlington City Council voted Tuesday to continue the citywide Via on-demand, rideshare public transportation service for an additional two years.
The new contract with River North Transit, LLC., of New York will continue the Via service through December 2024, with four two-year renewals options.
Since 2017, Via Rideshare has helped residents, students and visitors reach neighborhoods, shopping centers, offices, restaurants, medical facilities and other key destinations across The American Dream City. The service also helps riders get to and from the CentrePort TRE Station, where they can connect with commuter trains to Dallas, Fort Worth and beyond. As part of the newly approved contract, Via riders will be able to get to and from the Trinity Metro bus stop located on Eastchase Parkway in Fort Worth starting in January. This will allow passengers to connect with key destinations in this section of far east Fort Worth or other Trinity Metro bus routes.
Arlington’s rideshare service, which is about to begin its sixth year, uses a fleet of six-passenger vehicles to provide an equitable and flexible on-demand transit offering that is free from fixed routes and schedules. Via’s platform routes passengers in real time to convenient pickup and drop off locations within just a couple blocks, enabling multiple passengers headed in the same direction to efficiently share a single vehicle.
Riders can book a shared ride six days a week using a smartphone application or a dial-in phone number, 817-784-7382. The service operates from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. Booking options are available for riders that do not have a smartphone, need a cash option, or need curb to curb service.
Trips range from $3 to $5 per person per trip, depending on the distance traveled. Riders can also purchase a weekly ViaPass for a current cost of $25 for up to four rides per day for the week and a monthly ViaPass for a current cost of $80 for unlimited rides for 30 days.
Click here to visit the Arlington Via Rideshare webpage for more details.
The $30.2 million, two-year contract includes $22 million for the citywide Via rideshare service, as well as $180,000 for a student transportation program funded by the North Central Texas Council of Governments, $4 million for the Arlington RAPID autonomous vehicle service, and up to $4 million for potentially serving destinations in neighboring cities.
Funding for the $22 million citywide Via rideshare service will come from a mix of Federal Transit Administration funding, which will cover approximately 40% of the cost, and City funding, which will cover approximately 60% of the cost. Nearly $5 million in funding for the service is expected to come from fares that are collected as well as advertising revenue.
Original source can be found here.
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