Metro Magazine, April 2019
28 METRO MAGAZINE COM APRIL 2019 MOBILITY FIRST MILE From improving paratransit programs to providing greater connectivity integrating TNCs can be an effective way to increase mobility oferings while also potentially saving money By Alex Roman MANAGING EDITOR PARTNERING WITH TNCS ENHANCE RESHAPE TRANSIT O NCE VIEWED AS a competitor ride hailing companies like Lyft and Uber are fast becoming key partners in public transits quest to offer its customers more options in hopes of improving both ridership and connectivity There are some cities and routes where ridership is strong but overall the traditional forms of mobility are being disrupted by new modes and new options says Tina Quigley GM at the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada RTC in Las Vegas Transit needs to evolve as well and I firmly believe that if we are not at the table and testing and deploying projects to find things that work somebody else is going to define that evolution for us Quigley says that while ridership is up in the agencys general market corridors it has taken a significant dip in its resort corridor which has had a financial impact on the agency We know that we need to take a look at the system to fine tune it and find alternatives she says We also want to continue growing the system in our general market areas where we know we need it while also trying to keep our costs contained and remaining flexible With those goals in mind the RTC has been experimenting with several programs including a pilot with Lyft where the agency provides subsidized paratransit services to those that qualify It normally costs us 34 per trip but by partnering with Lyft we are offering better service to those customers at half the cost of our traditional paratransit services Quigley explains RTC
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