Microtransit system could offer transportation alternatives
Dec. 14—A pilot program that could help disadvantaged Sanford residents find transportation to work, school or appointments, was discussed during Sanford City's Council's workshop Tuesday.
The microtransit project pilot program could be enacted by January 2024, according to Senior and Long Range Planner, David Montgomery, who presented the data to council.
"The study was just completed, and in this study we asked what our mobility problems were." Montgomery said. "This pilot program will be to service mostly disadvantaged areas."
The future microtransit program will help disadvantaged people get to work, school, and to doctor's appointments, just like Uber and Lyft, via class C type vehicles. The rider will be able to summon a vehicle through an app that a person can use to travel to a specific destination — it was compared to an Uber or Lyft type of transportation.
A survey conducted by General and Stakeholder Surveys, conducted specifically for this project in Sanford, concluded that 65% of employers have lost workers, or been unable to fill positions due to transportation challenges, 78% of employers believe partnering with a microtransit service would provide reliable transportation for employees, and 80% of survey respondents are interested in using this service to better accommodate their employees, patients, or students.
"COLTS (County Of Lee Transportation Services) doesn't want to participate in funding of any kind in this project." Montgomery said to the council.
While COLTS serves the elderly and the disabled, this new microtransit system will be for workers / employees to go back and forth to work and visiting family and regular doctors appointments.
"COLTS has no problem with us filling those gaps." Montgomery said. "This new system can accommodate different shift workers and it'll be tested during a pilot stage."
The mission of this microtransit system is to improve the quality of life for the residents of Sanford, by providing affordable, reliable, and accessible transit within the city, and certain limited places across Lee county.
"We are assuming an average wait time of 20 minutes for this service." Montgomery said when asked about how long it would be for a person to wait on a ride
And as for costs for this program — While the expense for a rider hasn't been determined, if at all, potential funding sources could be from a USDOT rural Surface Transportation Grant, other federal discretionary grants, FTA Section 5311 Formula Grants, rider fare and advertising revenue, and local contributions from the City of Sanford, small business owners, corporations with employees within Sanford's city limits, and Central Carolina Community College.
"Bottom line we're looking at just over a million dollars in operating costs for the pilot program." Montgomery said.
The next regular Sanford city Council meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Dec. 20, in city council chambers.
