On-demand public transit has been successful enough during a trial in Rogers that regional transit providers are considering expanding the service to other Northwest Arkansas cities.
On-demand transit enables passengers to book travel at a convenient time during service operating hours and to be picked up from a designated spot. Riders have the option to book online, through the app or a direct call to the Ozark Regional Transit offices. Typical wait times for a pickup are under 15 minutes.
Ozark regional Transit started Pantonium, the on-demand system, in Rogers about 14 months ago.
" 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.
Rock Region Metro, the public transit agency in Central Arkansas, began the first public on-demand microtransit service in the state in August 2019. The agency demonstrated the service to Gardner and other transit executives later that year the annual Arkansas Transit Association conference, said Becca Green, director of public engagement for Rock Region Metro, in an email.
Part of the "R.I.D.E. 2020" transit network plan included expanding microtransit service zones in Little Rock and North Little Rock, as well as a zone in Conway, Green said in the email. She added that the transit agency is in discussions with other Central Arkansas municipal leaders about possibly implementing on-demand microtransit service in their areas.
"It's exciting to see more agencies promoting a mix of transit services to Arkansans and helping expand the vision of how public transit can meet citizens' needs for accessing jobs, health care, education and more," Green wrote in the email.
Gardner of Ozark Regional Transit said people in Bentonville have expressed interest in on-demand service.
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.
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.
Information for this article was contributed by staff of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
