Ozark Regional Transit continues to expand its on-demand service in select areas of the four major cities while waiting for the region's population to grow enough that traditional, fixed-route service becomes more attractive and economical.
"The denser the population, then the more efficient fixed routes are going to be. The more rural or suburban the population, the less efficient fixed routes are," said Joel Gardner, executive director at Ozark Regional Transit. "So, we will always have fixed routes, and, moving forward, we will always have some form of on-demand."
On-demand transit is a ride-hailing service like Lyft and Uber, but it's free in areas served by Ozark Regional Transit, at least for now. Riders may book trips through the cellphone app, online or by calling the Ozark Regional Transit offices. Typical wait times for a pickup are under 15 minutes.
Gardner said having on-demand gives the transit provider flexibility.
Ozark Regional Transit can use on-demand in areas where a fixed route is not attracting enough riders to be economical, he said. It also generates user data that can be used to make sure buses are deployed where they're most needed.
"In the past, we've guessed, I will say, at where people are and where they want to go," Gardner said.
The on-demand service in Rogers, for example, has shown exactly where people are and where their destination is based on the geocoding of the trip.
"So, we can start using it to build fixed routes," he said.
Sharri Radtke lives in Rogers and can no longer drive. Radtke said she depends on on-demand transit to get to doctor's appointments, shopping, restaurants and even the DMV when she needed to get an identification card. Drivers help her in and out and help her manage her shopping bags.
"They're just super-friendly and very helpful," Radtke said. "I have to depend on outside transportation, and they're one of the few people I can just really, seriously trust. They'll pick me up at home, take me where I'm going and then, when I'm done, they'll pick me back up and bring me home again."
Radtke said she constantly recommends the service to friends and can give them the phone number off the top of her head.
"Even if they started charging, I would still use it because they're that nice. They need more, not less," Radtke said. "They just put another one on so they have three vehicles now. So, as soon as everybody finds out that there are three vehicles, they're going to be loaded again."
Radtke said her only complaint is she would like to have more service in the evening hours.
About a million people are expected to be living in the region by 2045. The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, the Northwest Arkansas Council, the Walton Family Foundation and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, among others, have called for expanding public transit based on that prediction.
Transportation on all Ozark Regional Transit vehicles is free. Free fares for all modes of transit are covered by a grant Ozark Regional Transit received from the Walton Family Foundation. But board members recently discussed adding a small fare at some point down the road to help support the service.
"I think even at a few dollars, as compared to an Uber ride, that is a way that we can continue to make that self-sustaining and really grow the system," said Chris Brown, a Fayetteville representative on the transit board.
On-demand differs from traditional transit in that there are no fixed routes or schedules that buses follow. Instead, smaller vans are dispatched to pick up riders on a request basis, typically using a cellphone app. Larger buses are used on fixed routes.
"On the financial end, it's a less expensive vehicle to operate, a more nimble vehicle that can go places that the fixed-route buses can't go to," Gardner said. "Doing the fixed route, you've got to walk up to three-quarters of a mile to get to the nearest bus stop."
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. The driver can then take them directly where they want to go, using the most efficient route.
The service began in Rogers in January 2021. Bentonville and Fayetteville were added in February 2022. The service is being created for a portion of Springdale.
Since it began, use has grown 380%, from 8,825 riders in 2021 to 43,284 in 2022. Monday was the busiest day since the service was launched with 249 people requesting rides.
The service, combined with an offering of "zero-fare," has become so popular the transit provider is finding it harder to pick up people in a timely manner, according to an Ozark Regional Transit news release Wednesday.
Ozark Regional Transit recently added vans in Fayetteville and Rogers to provide quicker on-demand service during peak hours, according to the release.
In Rogers, the additional van will run six hours a day, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
In Fayetteville, the additional van will run 12.5 hours a day, 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Rogers system is evolving from on-demand only into one of both a fixed-route system at peak times of the day coupled with an on-demand system at nonpeak times, according to the news release.
Plans also call for an expansion of overall services in Fayetteville and Springdale in coming weeks, according to the release.
Fayetteville's on-demand service area is expanding both geographically and by hours. The system will extend service to 10 p.m. on Fridays and a new Saturday service will be added that will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for the on-demand system. Route 20, a fixed route, will also be revised for more frequent service.
Springdale's transit system will get an overhaul with the elimination of one fixed route, revision of two others and a new on-demand service area in the northeast part of the city.
Many details still have to be worked out, but the goal is to have a 20-minute frequency of service at each fixed-route stop and to have all proposed improvements and expansions done by March 27, according to the release.