The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the major transit provider for Philadelphia and the four surrounding counties, recently selected RideCo, a rider-centric on-demand transit technology company, to provide cloud-based, on-demand service.
“At SEPTA, we are committed to serving our citizens by continually improving our offerings, while ensuring we operate in a fiscally responsible manner,” Cassandra West, assistant chief operating officer, said. “By partnering with RideCo and launching the new demand response transit software platform, we continue to build on SEPTA’s vision for a stronger future where more equitable, accessible, and cost-effective public transit is a reality.”
The technology will be used on SEPTA’s paratransit and microtransit services to offer a more accessible and personalized rider experience.
The agency operates 411 paratransit vehicles along with plans for a 48 vehicle microtransit fleet. Once operational later this year, it will be the largest on-demand transit system in the United States.
“Through this partnership, SEPTA will completely change how they operate their paratransit services; utilizing industry-leading technology to offer a convenient rider-app, more timely service, become more efficient, productive, and thus save cost,” Prem Gururajan, RideCo co-founder and CEO, said.
SEPTA’s Bus Revolution aims to transform and redesign the agency’s bus network to offer a competitive and market-leading rider experience.