New Haven has joined a growing list of Connecticut cities and towns offering microtransit, seen by proponents as relatively quick and hassle-free way to expand access to affordable transportation.
Via Transportation, a New York-based tech company, launched its Via NHV ride-hailing service on March 11, joining similar services already available through the company in Stamford, Norwalk, Westport and the River Valley Transit District. The service offers $1.75 rides to customers in certain areas of New Haven as part of a two-year pilot program.
Via NHV operates similarly to Uber and Lyft, with customers using an app or phone call to arrange a ride from a driver in a passenger car or van. The main difference is in the price: Via is subsidized by the city and the Connecticut Department of Transportation to offer rides at the same cost as a two-hour bus pass.
“It is a public transportation system, let’s treat it as that,” Sandeep Aysola, New Haven’s Director of Transportation, Traffic and Parking, said during a press conference Thursday. “There’s no surge pricing, it picks you up. It’s sort of like point to point, but also it sort of fills that gap with first mile, last mile connectivity.”
The DOT awarded $19.5 million to fund nine microtransit pilots last year, including those affiliated with Via as well as other programs in Trumbull, Milford, New London, Groton and parts of the Greater Hartford and Valley Transit Districts.
In total, microtransit services are currently available in 17 towns and have completed over 100,000 rides to date, according to Ben Limmer, DOT’s Bureau Chief of Public Transportation.
“This new program will help seniors and people with disabilities travel in parts of our state that have historically been underserved by public transportation,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement announcing the awards last year. “These services allow people to use an app or phone number to request and schedule a ride within designated areas, connecting them to restaurants, entertainment, rail stations, airports, and critical services.”
Some critics, however, argue that microtransit is less efficient at moving people than traditional bus and rail systems, while relying heavily on subsidies to private companies that can divert investments away from other public transit services.
“Like other technology fads, the reality is less impressive and more expensive than the marketing suggests,” the Amalgamated Transit Union said in a report last year criticizing microtransit as a “false promise.”
The union represents bus drivers, mechanics and other transportation workers in nine locals across Connecticut.
The Via NHV pilot program will be limited to customers in the shaded areas for now. Officials said those service areas were drawn to correspond to areas with higher densities of car-free households.
In New Haven, the Via NHV pilot is mostly limited to customers in two zones located on the city’s west side, downtown and Fair Haven neighborhoods between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Officials said those zones were drawn to correspond to areas where fewer residents have access to cars.
Once customers have requested a ride, the service connects them with other riders and directs them to a nearby pickup point. Discounted rates of 85 cents will be available for seniors and low-income riders. Via is offering free rides to everyone as part of a promotional period through April 11.
Séverine Koen, who leads regional partnerships in East Coast region, said that nearly 500 rides have already been completed through Via NHV, with Union Station, Southern Connecticut State University and local supermarkets among the most popular destinations. Via’s Stamford pilot, StamForward, is serving about five people an hour after launching last November.
The pilot is funded mostly through a $3 million grant from DOT, with an additional $50,000 provided by New Haven. Aysola, the city’s transportation director, said fares collected by the city may be used either to expand the program or continue it beyond its initial two-year pilot period.
For Moriken Sangary, one of Via’s drivers, the job offers more regular hours and a steady wage compared to the 10 years he spent driving for Uber and Lyft, where after factoring the cost of gas he said he sometimes barely broke even at the end of a shift.
An immigrant from Liberia, Sangary told reporters Thursday that he also sees the job as giving back to his adopted community where he says the cost of transportation is a barrier to his family and others. In the three weeks he’s been driving for the company he said he’s gotten to know several regular customers including one who started calling him by a nickname.
“He says ‘Mo, I’m going to see you tomorrow, same time,” Sangary, said. “Stuff like that makes me happy.”
