The Bridj van-hailing service that debuted with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority two years ago ended in failure because of low ridership. Eventually, the company closed down. Nevertheless, KCATA and Johnson County are willing to give micro-transit another shot, this time with a similar test program in parts of Overland Park, Merriam, Shawnee and Lenexa.
County commissioners on Thursday approved spending $250,000 on a six-month pilot program to see if it will eventually provide a viable and more sustainable alternative to the full-sized city buses that now serve the suburbs. This time around, the micro-transit service will be offered through Transloc, a company owned by Ford.
The pilot program is basically a ride-hailing service like Uber or Lyft, except that large vans pick up riders instead of cars. Riders make arrangements on a Smartphone app or by calling a number. If, for instance, three riders appear to be headed to roughly the same place at the same time, a software program figures out the best route.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)