BUS MOBILITY
the combination of reduced vehicles
on the road and decreased
emissions.
“Our infrastructure on our
roads and our cities can’t really
handle the congestion that
would be created by a gazillion
ride-sharing services all running
around the city doing MOD. Th e
congestion and commute times
would not get any better by that
as a solution,” explained McNeil.
“We think that the mobility as a
service is going to include trains
and subways, ride-sharing services,
scooters and bicycles – and
we think that buses will be included,
as well.”
In a moving city, a decrease in
congestion promotes ease of use
among riders, as does the ability
to take transit from their front
doors to the station and on to
their end destination.
“At the end of the day, I think
the thing that people like about
MOD is that they can be productive
doing something else during
the ride. We do think that all the
vehicles that New Flyer, Motor
Coach Industry and ARBOC build
are going to be part of mobility going
forward. We just think of the
shape of how mobility is off ered
to clients, whether via an app or a
diff erent way of fi nding your way
from point A to B won’t change,”
said McNeill.
Pilot programs to further
develop connections
As the emergence of MOD continues,
transit agencies are working
to plan how to best integrate
on-demand mobility into current
bus routes.
McNeill said that she is aware of
a number of diff erent agencies that
are putting programs into place.
Th e Los Angeles Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (Metro)
services a number of diff erent
counties, which covers a wide
range of communities.
Joshua Schank, chief innovation
offi cer, Metro said, “Th ere
are two separate projects that
we have for on-demand services,
one is mobility on demand and
the other is microtransit. MOD
is a service that is designed to
bring people from two or three
diff erent stations in L.A.. County.
It is an on-demand shared ride
service and can only be used to
and from the transit station, on
one case it’s the bus, the other is
light rail and heavy rail.”
Metro has areas in which it may
be diffi cult for riders to reach their
stations with ease.
“We picked those service areas
specifi cally because people have
challenges getting to and from
those stations. Th is could be a
better method for accessing those
stations, especially for people who
are low income, disabled or do not
have smartphones. We’re opening
up to all those groups,” Schank
said. “We selected a specifi c service
area boundaries that do not
specifi cally compete with existing
bus service, but are instead a new
method of getting to and from the
station. We worked with our service
planning folks to make sure
that we were not duplicating what
was out there.”
L.A.’s microtransit program
will launch in 2019
“When it comes to microtransit
it’s a separate project, we have
not decided where those zones
will be and what exactly it will
look like, but part of what we’re
doing on our NextGen bus study is
looking at our network and deciding
where does microtransit
and how does microtransit fi t
in,” explained Schank. “We’re
26 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)
BUS
MANUFACTURERS
are working to
innovate vehicles
through the
integration of
technology and a
greater partnership
with agencies.
observing diff erent parts of the
county to see which service would
be most appropriate for that part
of the county.”
A more connected future
Schank explained that Metro is
still in the experimentation phase
of observing how on-demand
mobility programs will fi t in with
the rest of the system.
“My thinking has always been
that the way this is going to work
is through partnership between
public and private sectors where
we bring the best of both sides to
deliver the best possible service.
Th e private sector is inclined
towards profi t, but profi t usually
doesn’t include serving marginally
inclined groups like the disabled
or low income people or making
sure that people who don’t have
smartphones are served. Th is
allows us to open into that
demographic,” explained Schank.
Across the transportation
industry, these programs will off er
a glimpse into the future of how
our cities will operate.
“At the end of the day, transit
agencies provide a really important
service to communities. Th ey’re
looking for more ways to expand
that service,” said McNeill.
“At the end of the day, I
think the thing that people like
about MOD is that they can be
productive doing something
else during the ride.”
-JENNIFER MCNEILL, vice
president of sales and
marketing at New Flyer
/MassTransitmag.com