Could Arlington have citywide transportation? Leaders mull options as Via riders return
Larry Woodward began driving for Arlington’s ride-share service during one of the public transportation system’s busiest months to date.
When he signed on in February, he learned the ins and outs of Via, a ride-hailing service provided through a partnership with the city, through driving around 15 people around over his six-hour shift. The service shuttles riders for $3 through a service area that covers part of the city and the Centreport TRE station for $3.
The city recorded around 22,000 rides through the month on the heels of Via’s expansion to southeast Arlington, Tarrant County College and the Park Springs Park and Ride lot along Interstate 20. But after the first round of stay-at-home orders in March, April ridership dwindled to 7,700 as the coronavirus pandemic forced people indoors and UT Arlington classes online.
Suddenly, Woodward was waiting two hours between rides. But as students return to in-person and hybrid courses and people venture out, he’s seeing business return to the city’s sole form of public transit.
“I can tell a difference between what it was two months ago and what it is now,” Woodward said.
City officials regard Via as a creative transportation solution for a city that has historically resisted traditional public transportation options. Council members will decide in the next couple of months whether to renew Arlington’s contract with Via and expand the service citywide in January. The council has already taken up questions about the program’s future, including future funding sources and protocol for scaling back the system as rideshare demand changes.
A spokesperson for Via told the Star-Telegram that ridership levels are around 60% of pre-pandemic numbers. City documents show ridership has steadily increased since April following a two-month decline. Riders are returning to vans with plexiglass screens installed between drivers and passengers, personal protective equipment and restrictions on the amount of riders allowed in the vehicle.
Overall, the city saw a decrease in ridership just over 50% between the beginning of the year and the first few months of the pandemic. Third-quarter fiscal year numbers put Arlington’s ridership at just over 28,000 riders between April and June.
However, Alicia Winkelblech, city senior strategic initiatives officer, said the city was able to tweak the service according to falling demand thanks to the app’s flexibility. When rider numbers dwindled, the city reduced the amount of vans on the road from 22 to 15. Additionally, some of the drivers who quit as demand decreased have returned. Other cities with traditional mass transit services cannot make similar adjustments and may have missed out on some cost savings, she said.
“We were actually able to save money and still provide transit service for those who were needing it during the pandemic. A lot of transit agencies and groups that are providing more traditional transit across the nation didn’t see the same cost savings we saw because they’re not running as flexible of a system,” she said.
Via in Arlington receives funding from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, which allows Tarrant County College students to ride for free. Instead of offering a normal shuttle service for its students, UT Arlington is also offering free rides
for its students to use Via at no cost.
Hailey Phillips, a senior biology student at UT Arlington, said the service helps students like her who do not own a vehicle. She said the program has especially helped international students.
“I really don’t know what we would have done” without a shuttle, she said.
Council members discuss expansion
As ridership numbers rise — and as the city’s contract with Via expires in 2021, officials must decide what the future of the service will look like and how to fund it.
Winkelblech put that question before Arlington City Council members at a meeting July 19. The council will vote in October whether to renew the city’s contract. A citywide contract would put 40 more vans on the road. The current service covers around 40% of the city, including downtown, the entertainment district, Arlington Municipal Airport and the Centreport TRE station. In 2022, council members will decide whether to keep the ride-share program citywide or scale it back.
Mayor Jeff Williams said he hopes an expansion would help city staff better understand riders’ needs and lead to other transit projects in the city.
“We have hit on one of the most successful transportation projects in the nation right here and cities across the nation have followed Arlington’s path,” he said.
The city is also faced with long-term funding questions surrounding the service, especially if the service extends citywide. The service is projected to cost $439,000 during fiscal 2020, but could cost as much $6.2 million in fiscal 2024, according to city projections.
“There’s lots of tools on table and lots of different approaches we can take to try to reduce that gap,” Winkelblech said.
Council members will discuss restructuring the service’s flat $3 fare to a tiered system based on distance traveled. The scale would cap out at $5 under the proposal, and the average fare cost may rise to $3.76. Winkelblech said the fare would help the service remain competitive as a ride-hailing service and generate extra funds without pricing people out of rides. She said based on current data, most trips would not cost more than $4.
“There’s a much smaller percentage that would be looking at a $4.50 or $5 ride,” she said.
Other proposals include offering advertising on and inside its vans, seeking grant funding and opting for a different vehicle make and body.
