Too hot to walk in Fort Worth’s medical district or Magnolia? Here’s how to get a ride
Fort Worth’s transit agency isn’t waiting on the planned expansion of TEXRail to expand public transportation in the city’s Near Southside.
Trinity Metro is launching its Zipzone service into the city’s medical district, beginning Sunday.
Zipzone is an on-demand service in which vans operated by one of Trinity Metro’s contractors pick up passengers in a specified area and provide low-cost rides to the nearest train or bus stop. Passengers often use a mobile phone application to call for a ride.
In mass transit circles, a service such as Zipzone is seen as a cost-effective way to help prospective riders get through the “last mile” of their journey — for example, from their home or office to the nearest bus or train stop.
In the Near Southside area, the Zipzone service will be offered from roughly Interstate 30 to the north, Evans Avenue to the east, Forest Park Boulevard to the west and Allen Avenue/Windsor Place to the south.
The Zipzone service area includes many restaurants and businesses in the popular Magnolia Avenue area, as well as at least eight large medical facilities.
Health care providers in that area include: Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center; Cook Children’s Medical Center; John Peter Smith Hospital; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth; Medical City Fort Worth; Moncrief Cancer Institute; and UT Southwestern Monty and Tex Moncrief Medical Center at Fort Worth.
Zipzone rides in the Near Southside will be free through the end of August, to encourage area residents to try the new service, Trinity Metro officials said. After the introductory period, rides will cost $3.
“This service is going to provide a new choice for the 40,000 employees who travel to the Near Southside for work,” Bob Baulsir, Trinity Metro president, said an an email. “We partnered with the City of Fort Worth on this important transit initiative to provide a daily on-demand option.”
Trinity Metro’s contractor, Via, will operate the Zipzone service using black Toyota Sienna vans. The service will operate 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
“We anticipate that ZIPZONE will be a popular choice in this area, especially for daily commuters,” said Wayne Gensler, Trinity Metro chief operating officer. “One of the unique aspects of this service is that anyone within the service area has the option to use it for going to lunch or running an errand. The time saved by not having to find parking should encourage people to give it a try.”
How it works:
▪ Download the Trinity Metro ZIPZONE app.
▪ Use the app to order a ride.
▪ View interactive map of service area at RIDETRINITYMETRO.org/ZIPZONE.
Trinity Metro has three other Zipzone services in the Crowley, Mercantile and Alliance areas.
More Fort Worth transit
Longer-term, even more transit services are planned for the Near Southside.
Trinity Metro plans to enhance its services in the medical district by extending the TEXRail commuter line from its current terminus at T&P Station about two more miles to the southwest, to a planned train station at Mistletoe Boulevard.
Trinity Metro is working with the U.S. Transportation Department on funding the commuter rail expansion, and hopes to get the work done in the next couple of years.
