Public transportation isn’t immune to the current era of sharing, subscriptions, and digital dependence. A microgeneration of late millennials and early Gen Zs — zillennials — are redefining transit culture and services. Who are zillennials? People born between 1992 and 1998, who may be too young to relate with core millennial characteristics and too old to wholly identify with Gen … Read More
What is On-Demand Microtransit (and Why Do We Need it Now More Than Ever)?
Your Google search ends here. On-demand microtransit is a flexible and dynamic demand-response mode of passenger transportation. Riders request a vehicle (typically a small van or shuttle) through a mobile app (or by calling a dispatcher) to pick them up and drop them off at a location. Sound familiar to your favorite ride-hailing service? The tech may be similar, but … Read More
Three Changes to Public Transit that Riders Want Right Now
TransLoc’s Transit Value Index (TVI) showed that public transit riders want safe, sustainable, and seamless mobility options. To get there, transit agencies will need to rely on trustworthy data, innovative technology, and the voices of their riders. We hosted an expert roundtable featuring transit planners, tech pros, and community engagement specialists and asked them what it will take to make … Read More
Editorial: We Need Collaboration, Not Complexity, to Solve Transit’s First Mile/Last Mile Problem
Even though many people continue to rely on public transit, we are seeing a gradual decline in ridership across the country. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), transit ridership declined by 2.9% from ridership levels in 2016, which was already down 3.1% from 2015. While global health events, service reliability, and roadway congestion influence public perception of transit, … Read More
Give Your Transit Riders a Voice with TransLoc’s Rider Survey
Blackberry was unveiled in 1999. Millions of dollars went into developing and advertising this popular device, and we saw them in the hands of many savvy consumers for over a decade. So, why in the world aren’t we seeing them today? And why are we talking about them in a transit blog? Transit is wildly different from smartphones with physical … Read More
How to Reach Your Riders Using Social Media
Do you find the idea of using social media to reach your riders daunting? You’re not the only one. With the rapid increase in social media use over the last decade, coupled with new platforms and shifting algorithms, the idea of finding the best approach can feel overwhelming — especially when you don’t have a big marketing team to help. … Read More
Editorial: The Real Threats to Public Transit (Hint: It’s Not Uber and Lyft)
On a brisk morning last May, Sunny Madra, vice president of Ford’s accelerator program, left his Manhattan apartment to catch a plane to San Francisco. After unsuccessfully trying to hail a cab for 20 minutes, he booked an Uber to JFK International Airport for a whopping $248.90. Little did he know that his 18-mile ride to the airport would cost … Read More
It’s Your Microtransit: The Importance of Agency-Owned On-Demand Transit
In the past, transit systems were built to provide an efficient, balanced supply of transportation that met the needs of the mass population. Today, private transportation network companies (TNCs) offer flexible on-demand microtransit mobility options to communities. Local transit agencies are now competing to attract and retain riders by implementing flexible, demand-response services to complement traditional fixed-route services — all … Read More
How to Market Your Transit Services
Are you launching a new fixed-route/on-demand transit service or looking to increase ridership for your existing services? Have you considered how you will get riders’ attention? At TransLoc, we recognize that the success of your service is measured by riders on your bus or shuttle. Marketing is a vital piece in educating and informing riders to ensure the success of … Read More
How to Select Your First Microtransit Service
Agency-owned microtransit provides the flexibility and accessibility that today’s transit riders crave. When paired with a fixed-route service and optimized by smart data, transit agencies can benefit from reduced expenses while maintaining agile and exceptional service. There is a tendency to “go big” when launching a microtransit service by implementing it in a huge, complex geographical area in order to … Read More
12 Brilliant Marketing Ideas for University On-Demand Transit
Students are counting down the days until college and universities open for learning in the fall semester. Likewise, the hundreds of campus departments and services at every university are all strategizing on how to vie for their attention. As a university transit professional, you have important info to share with students about your on-demand transit program. Here are 12 brilliant … Read More
The New Transit: Unifying Fixed-Route and On-Demand Services
The past 50 years for transit innovation have been relatively stagnant. Community development in the United States since World War II is best defined with two words: urban sprawl. Streets, houses, and commercial buildings are constructed with car usage in mind, thus stretching out communities and further compounding transit’s problem of connecting people to where they need to go. To … Read More
The Definitive Glossary of Transit Terms
As with most industries these days, transit is evolving. Technologies are emerging, new mobility options are becoming available, and people are moving more freely than ever before. From bikeshares to buses, to scooters and autonomous vehicles, it can be hard to keep up with the new and exciting developments happening in the world of transportation.
Four Challenges Facing the Transit Industry in 2021 (and How to Address Them)
Public transportation is an essential part of the economic and social development within communities.
Use Data as the Catalyst for Your Transit Agency’s COVID-19 Recovery
Across the country, we are seeing businesses open their doors, foot traffic filling up downtown sidewalks, and communities reuniting after far too many months apart. Recovery, better yet, healing, is happening for all of us.
To Share is Human
Our transportation system is evolving, and the year 2020 forced an unparalleled rate of change. Falling transit ridership and soaring automobile sales have led some to predict the end of shared mobility and the obsolescence of public transit. While I agree that the future must look very different from the past, I do not believe that sharing is dead. Quite … Read More
Eliminating Public Transit’s First-Mile/Last-Mile Problem
“The most commonly cited standard [for walking distance to transit] is 400m or ¼ mile.” – Jarrett Walker, Human Transit What is public transit’s first-mile/last-mile (FM/LM) problem? It begins with a quarter mile. Most people in the United States are “comfortable” walking less than a quarter mile to or from public transit stops. The problem arises when a potential rider … Read More
Use Data or Lose Everything: Transit Agencies have a Choice
A TechCrunch article from May offers a simple, clairvoyant thesis about the future of the auto industry: “Automakers have a choice: become data companies or become irrelevant.” The message is clear: traditional vehicle manufacturers will no longer have dominant market positions when mobility data, not vehicle hardware, is the ultimate valued commodity. The same can be said not only for … Read More
Microtransit is a Value Investment
“You have to understand the makeup of Montgomery County and how much area we’re serving. We could no longer afford to put fixed route services in those areas, but they’re still going to get better service, through these new mobility options.” – Brandon Policicchio, Chief Customer and Business Development Officer, Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, Ohio At TransLoc we believe … Read More
A Versatile Mobility Solution
“Existing urban transit modes can continue to operate, but today citizens demand more than simply expanding old systems. They have access to smartphone apps and flexible ride options that have become popular by focusing on ease of use and a great rider experience.” Transit leaders are struggling to overcome the obstacles presented by an increasingly outdated public transit system. As … Read More
Microtransit Puts Opportunity Within Reach
This is probably one of the most exciting things that’s happened in public transit in my lifetime. We’re creating the future.” – Mayor Jeffry Wosje, Plymouth, Minnesota. Midsize metropolitan areas are growing, and traditional transit is struggling to serve those rapidly growing populations and shifting demographics. In rural areas, fixed-route buses are often limited or non-existent, impeding access to opportunities … Read More
Kansas City Paves the Way for the Evolution of Microtransit
“This new transit option empowers customers to make the choice that works best for them. It’s customer-driven transit.” -Robbie Makinen, President and CEO of Kansas City Area Transportation Authority
Three Ways Agency-Owned Microtransit Can Be Better for the Environment Than Uber or Lyft
Uber was founded ten years ago, and has long since become a household word. The widespread adoption of TNCs (Transportation Network Companies) like Uber and Lyft has disrupted mobility in American cities, and has set new consumer expectations of transportation convenience. Studies of the impact of TNCs have found quite a few things to be concerned with, not least among … Read More
The Optimal Transportation System: A Problem Statement
Have you ever ridden a train on Thanksgiving weekend?Does your commute home begin at 5 p.m.?Do you know someone who isn’t sure how they’ll get to their next doctor’s appointment, or even to the grocery store?
5 Takeaways from APTA’s Marketing & Communication Workshop
Recently, a few members from TransLoc’s marketing team hopped on a plane to head to New Orleans for the 2019 APTA Marketing & Communications Workshop. This intensive and interactive workshop, focused on public transportation marketing as a whole, has been teaching industry professionals for over 10 years.
Microtransit Provides an Opportunity to Thrive
Hear from Lauren Marks, Executive Director of The Exceptional Foundation of Atlanta, about how a microtransit service in Gwinnett County, GA is providing service for an exceptional group. I am the Executive Director for a newly established nonprofit called The Exceptional Foundation of Atlanta. Our nonprofit is a private day program for adults with intellectual disabilities. Basically, we are the … Read More
How the Desire to Improve Lives Brought One Urban Planner from KCATA to TransLoc
TransLoc welcomes AICP-certified planner Tyler Means to the team as Senior Project Manager. Tyler comes from one of TransLoc’s transit agency partners, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), where he served as Operations Manager. He is passionate about mobility and improving the lives of others by making transportation more accessible and more affordable.
Growing The Movement
Just about a year ago, TransLoc was acquired by Ford Smart Mobility. After spending the bulk of my professional career working at TransLoc in a bootstrapped and then VC rocket-fueled spaceship, we were finally in orbit. We are now a part of a large, multinational company that not only has the resources to play a key role in mobility, but … Read More
20 Questions You Should Ask When Shopping for Microtransit
Congratulations! You’ve decided to pursue microtransit for your agency. Now what?
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