Public transit is evolving to keep up with the conveniences offered by transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. The question is whether it will work for the long haul.
"A bus that picks you up at your front door and delivers you to where you need to go. Nope, it’s not the newest for-profit ride-hailing app but rather it’s Capital Metro’s way of providing door-to-door service in the public transportation realm," writes Amanda Dugan.
"Capital Metro launches its new on-demand Pickup app on June 6. The free pilot program, which replaces the MetroFlex Upper Eastside pilot route, will operate in east and northeast Austin," adds Dugan.
The article includes more details on how the app and the service work. Capital Metro spokesperson Dan Dawson is quoted in the article saying the pilot program is proof that Capital Metro is "not your grandfather's bus system anymore." Austin will find out if that's true when the service launches on June 6.
Austin residents famously resisted transportation network companies by approving legislation that forced companied like Uber and Lyft out of the city—that is until state lawmakers produced a statewide bill that supersedes local control on the matter. The pilot project by Capital Metro is not unprecedented. Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority created a similar program in a suburban area of the East San Francisco bay Area in August 2016, for instance.
FULL STORY: Capital Metro testing new free ride-hailing app in east, northeast Austin
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