On-demand transit service could expand across Northwest Arkansas

On-demand public transit has been successful enough during a trial in Rogers that regional transit providers are considering expanding the service to other cities.

On-demand transit enables passengers to book their journey at a convenient time during service operating hours and to be picked up from a designated location. Riders have the option to book online, through the app or a direct call in to the Ozark Regional Transit offices. Typical wait times for a pickup are under 15 minutes.

Ozark regional Transit launched Pantonium, the on-demand system, in Rogers about 14 months ago.

"It's a good way of looking at, or reimagining transit. I know that in Rogers, we're doing it very, very well. And, I know that we could use it in Fayetteville to cover some areas that are uncovered right now with any transit," whether it's Ozark Regional Transit or the University of Arkansas' Razorback Transit, said Joel Gardner, executive director of Ozark Regional Transit.

"If you look at the Mission and Crossover area, it continues to grow, and I continue to get calls from people over there saying can you do something?" he said.

Gardner said people in Bentonville also have expressed interest in on-demand service.

Peter Nierengarten, who represents Fayetteville on the transit authority board, said he was interested in having Pantonium, the software creator, look at data and recommend whether the city should transition some fixed routes to on-demand.

Gardner said he thinks Regional Transit could improve service in Fayetteville by incorporating on-demand. Fayetteville has three fixed routes.

"I think we could cover a whole lot more ground with on-demand transit and be much more efficient in our delivery of people using that mode than what we are currently doing," Gardner said.

He said he'd like to maintain the College Avenue fixed route, but split the other two buses between on-demand at Mission and Crossover south and College Avenue and the university.

Managing assets

Jeremy Eves with Pantonium said with fixed routes only, buses are busy at certain times of the day or week and not so busy at other times.

"It ends up getting empty buses running around in circles, which, typically, that's where you get the complaints from folks," Eves said. "Either they're seeing buses running empty or they're not getting buses exactly where they want them to go. Our solution is on-demand transit."

Eves said on-demand functions much like a ride-hailing service only using buses.

"It still moves the volume of people you want to move on public transit, but not at the cost of a taxi service and, typically, it's not door-to-door. It's usually stop to stop," he said.

The on-demand service in Rogers delivered 677 trips in May , the most since it was started, Eves said. About 2 p.m. was the most popular trip time. Early mornings were also popular times and use dropped after 6 p.m.

Eves said riders could have booked a couple of days in advance, but most wanted to be picked up as soon as possible or within an hour. Most trips were 15 minutes or less.

Rogers residents Erica Kennedy and June Journey said they rely on public transit and the on-demand model is convenient for them.

"It gets me where I want to go. I usually use it to go to like doctors' appointments or go to Walmart or places to do the shopping that I need to do," Kennedy said. "I usually schedule like a day or two in advance so that they have time to find a route and stuff. I'm pretty happy with it."

Journey said she's 75 and typically uses the bus three or four times a week. She can go to the mall, Walmart or out to eat with a call. It's about a 10-minute walk to her pickup point, she said.

Going where they want

Eves said the on-demand service allows the transit provider to plan based on where people are asking to go rather than trying to predict where they might want to go.

"As usual, Walmart is the de facto transit terminal," Eves said. "Every one of our deployments, Walmart is the No. 1 transit pickup and drop-off destination. They definitely drive traffic for these on-demand systems."

Eves said fixed routes are still necessary because they move a lot of people through areas with a high volume of riders. A mix of fixed routes and on-demand can reduce the number of buses and when they are used.

John McCurdy, who represents Rogers on the transit authority, said his city started with both fixed routes and on-demand, but scrubbed the fixed routes after covid hit and ridership plummeted.

McCurdy said the city hasn't decided whether to bring fixed routes back post-pandemic because the data hasn't allowed it to make a determination yet.

Mike Lanier, who represents Madison County on the transit authority, asked whether on-demand could be used in a more rural, low-density setting.

Eves said he could set up a system, but it would require riders to book further in advance and meet the bus at a designated pickup location.