There’s a window of time each week when riding a Sioux Falls city bus now might feel more like calling for a ride-sharing service.
Pull up the app for Sioux Area Metro, enter a nearby corner along with your destination, and the app will connect you with a shared bus ride directly to a drop-off point at another designated corner not more than a block from your desired destination.
It’s not quite door-to-door service — but it’s a lot closer than traditional fixed bus routes. It’s also a lot cheaper than hailing a ride-sharing service. A trip on Sioux Area Metro’s On Demand bus is just $1.50. Those without access to the app can call 605-367-7151 and schedule an on-demand ride.
The service is called microtransit, and for now it’s just offered on Saturdays from 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., but the longer range thought is to expand to weekdays and evenings — assuming people use it.
The technology behind the transit update is from Via, which became the contracted operator of the city’s public transit system, Sioux Area Metro, at the beginning of the year. Based in New York City, it was founded in 2012 with the goal of working with cities to bring the convenience of ride-sharing to public transportation.
There are about 650 communities globally that now use the technology. In the U.S., about 65 cities are contracting with Via to manage their transit system.
“I’ve been impressed with the quality of their team and the amount of time they are here on the ground and how involved they get,” said Jeff Eckhoff, the city’s director of planning and development services, which oversees Sioux Area Metro.
“There’s a lot of talent there. Every day that goes by, I feel better about the choice, choosing them to help us with our transit. They have a great ability to make sure the basics are taken care of while keeping an eye forward on how to improve.”
Emily Shapiro, who is based in New York City, temporarily moved to Sioux Falls to serve as interim general manager. New general manager Gary Horrocks is scheduled to start next month.
Joe Martin, Via’s partner success manager for Sioux Falls, and Emily Shapiro, interim general manager
“We’re absorbing the existing transit operation, and then we’re going to make changes slowly over time,” Shapiro said.
That includes the city’s 12 fixed bus routes and its paratransit operation, which serves qualifying riders who can book rides a day in advance, generally for medical appointments and community engagement.
City data shows about 44,000 rides were given in November on the fixed-route system, with about 500,000 estimated annually. On a recent Saturday, the on-demand service drew 66 rides, which is about average.
“Ridership is not where we would want it to be as Via, and it’s not where the city wants it to be,” Shapiro said.
The city has created a transit development plan that Via “plans to bring to fruition over the next 12 months,” she continued. “The whole objective is to make transit more acceptable and reliable. It’s very rider-focused, and by bringing our technology, we’ll be able to bring more transit to more people with the same budget.”
Microtransit will be a key element, she said. For now, small buses are used for the service, but minivans also could be an option. All drivers are full-time employees of Sioux Area Metro — not independent contractors as ride-sharing services are. The service area essentially encompasses the city limits, meaning riders who live outside of traditional fixed bus routes can still use it.
“You could actually use these modes to connect,” Shapiro said. “Maybe there’s a microtransit zone that will bring you to a bus stop and make less stops and take you downtown quickly. Our app will connect you, show the plan of how to make the connections and help you time it so it’s a very seamless trip.”
There are 88 people on the local Sioux Area Metro team, and openings for more. The organization offers drivers a process to obtain a commercial driver’s license.
“We’ve been so impressed and humbled by the quality of the people we’re working with. We were able to offer jobs to all the employees on the payroll and very excitedly did so,” Shapiro said. “We are heavily leaning in to the local knowledge and expertise, and what we can bring is this vision of transit of the future: a rider-centric approach using data and analytics to improve the system.”
In other Via transit communities, there has been an “overwhelming” increase in ridership. The hope is for the same in Sioux Falls.
“One year from now, we would love to see higher ridership of public transit and more preferred ridership,” Shapiro said. “We would love to see riders who are choosing public transit because it is efficient, accessible and makes their lives easy. Our No. 1 objective is to bring more riders to the system and improve access and the public transit experience.”
