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Overview
- 718 sq mile Service Zone
- 2 vehicles
- 12 month microtransit feasibility project
- Door-to-door service
- Wheelchair accessible vehicles
- Coordinated mobility project
The Problem
According to a Calhoun County Transit study performed by Foursquare ITP, there are approximately 70,000 transit trips provided by current Operators. The estimated demand for annual trips comes to 92,000—leaving a shortfall of over 20,000 passenger trips.
There are coverage and service gaps across the county where transit and tele-transit services do not operate leaving vulnerable populations without transportation or access to amenities.
Many members of society are within a lower income bracket or have accessibility requirements, making vehicle ownership challenging.
This adds pressure to the transit network, as it is a primary means of movement and access to amenity within the County.
The Solution
Through a Michigan Department of Transportation grant, Battle Creek Transit launched a pilot program to demonstrate the feasibility of an On-Demand transportation system over a 12 month period.
BCGo is an On-Demand microtransit service allowing passengers to book via a mobile App or Call Center. There is a digital payment or unbanked provision allowing passengers to choose how they pay for the service.
There is a customized fare structure based on mileage travelled and passengers are charged a flat fee for additional passengers made on the same booking.
Being a door-to-door service, it affords the most flexible form of Public Transit within the County.
The Results
In three short months the service has successfully connected members of the public who previously did not have convenient access to public transportation.
- 68% of passengers make bookings using the BCGo App whilst 32% prefer to use the Call Center.
- The average trip time is 13 minutes and the service experiences its peak period of trip requests at 2pm each day.
- The highest usage by a single passenger has been 37 trips per month—reflecting the much needed transportation resource.
Learnings
The high interest and uptake of this service has surprised everyone. As a result, multiple local employers and community groups have inquired about involving their people. Battle Creek has offered a standard ‘dial-a-ride’ On-Demand Service for many years but have seen far greater interest in this service. Battle Creek Transit and Liftango are working closely to make continual improvements to the service. The biggest challenge for servicing such a large area is the sheer distance a vehicle must travel for some passenger requests. However, continued development is occurring to ensure passenger demand is met and vehicles are within an optimal distance, to respond to most requests to minimize the need for additional vehicles.
