Under a six-month pilot program, public mobility provider and developer Via partnered with the City of Birmingham and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham to on-demand, shared-ride services throughout the Alabama city.
The move is not a replacement for traditional services, but rather, a supplementary effort, and will be offered at $1.50 per ride. Each Via vehicle will include six seats and utilize Via-developed technology. They will operate through corner-to-corner service to reduce detours, travel time, and reliance on fixed routes and schedules.
“We’re delighted to partner with the City of Birmingham to provide an affordable, convenient, and reliable transportation option for residents,” Daniel Ramot, co-founder and CEO of Via, said. “Via’s powerful passenger matching and vehicle routing algorithm is the solution to improving access in transportation deserts, seamlessly integrating into the existing public transit infrastructure to connect residents to work, education, healthcare, and opportunities in their communities.”
Via’s technology uses a specific algorithm to direct interested passengers to nearby street corners for pick up and drop off, especially targeting high need and underserved communities. The only day these routes will be unavailable are Sundays. Otherwise, it will operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wheelchair accessible vehicles will also be available.
“We have been looking for additional layers of service to support the transportation needs of our residents,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “Through this partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, we are confident Via’s innovative transportation system will offer an additional option for on-demand transportation to our residents with an emphasis on connecting them with the services they need on a daily basis. We are proud to add another tool to our toolbox as well as joining more than 80 cities and partners who have worked with Via to provide innovation to public transportation.”
Via reports more than 80 launched and pending deployments of their services in nearly 20 countries, providing more than 60 million rides to date.