Via Transportation Inc is picking up where Bridj left off—offering on demand ride sharing in cities in California and Texas.
Ride-share business Via has announced a partnership with the cities of West Sacramento, California and Arlington, Texas to provide on-demand ride sharing.
"Customers will set pick-up and drop-off locations on the Via app just like other ride-shares, and then a van will pick up several riders headed in the same direction and make multiple stops along a route devised in real time," explains Katie Pyzyk for Smart Cities Dive.
Service is expected to launch in Arlington in December 2017. The Via service will "replace the city's one existing bus line, 'the Max,' which runs one route connecting the University of Texas at Arlington and with transit center south of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport," according to Pyzyk. Via will also offer service in areas not covered by the Max, which is also a pilot program that will expire at the end of the year.
Local coverage is also available for each partnership, by Alice Barr in Arlington and Ellen Garrison in West Sacramento. A press release by Via Transportation Inc. also provides additional details on the new partnerships.
For a history of a high-profile precedent in on demand ride hailing, see Planetizen's coverage of the Bridj system, which launched in Boston in 2014 and ended operations three years later.
Read the full story: 2 cities partner with ride-share service Via for public transit alternatives
The Slow Death of Ride Sharing
From the beginning, TNCs like Lyft and Uber touted shared rides as their key product. Now, Lyft is ending the practice.
Ride-Hailing Prices Skyrocket as the U.S. Emerges From the Pandemic
A shortage of drivers and spiking demand are driving Uber and Lyft prices higher than ever as the companies struggle to achieve profitability.
Poor Returns for L.A.'s Transit on Demand Pilot
Similar to microtransit on demand programs in other cities, Los Angeles' ongoing experiment is proving to be very expensive (for the public) for the benefit of very few riders.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago Avenue bridge construction delays enrages city leaders
The bridge has been closed since 2025. The city originally aimed to re-open it in December, and now expects to finish construction in 2027.
NYC bus network redesign speeds up Queens buses
Rush routes have seen a 4.6% speed increase after the redesign.
California High-Speed Rail Authority picks trainset manufacturer
The California High-Speed Rail Authority aims to start servicing passengers by 2033.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority