OCTA launches on-demand microtransit service

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has launched an on-demand microtransit programme to help better match public transit services with how commuters want to travel. The one-year pilot, called OC Flex, will allow riders to take an eight-person shuttle between two zones – one in Huntington Beach and the northern city of Westminster and the other in three cities: Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. Lisa Bartlett, OCTA chairwoman, says: "We hope that this innovative alternative will h
November 16, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

The 1768 Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has launched an on-demand microtransit programme to help
better match public transit services with how commuters want to travel.

The one-year pilot, called OC Flex, will allow riders to take an eight-person shuttle between two zones –
one in Huntington Beach and the northern city of Westminster and the other in three cities: Mission Viejo,
Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel.

Lisa Bartlett, OCTA chairwoman, says: "We hope that this innovative alternative will help introduce more
people to the convenience of leaving their cars at home."

Riders can either pay $4.50 for using the OC Flex mobile app – developed by ride-share company Via – or pay
$5 for unlimited trips on both routes. Users can also make free connections to OCTA’s traditional bus
service and rail transit.

OC Flex runs seven days a week and can be accessed by wheelchair users. Drivers undergo background checks
and a safety training programme.

OCTA says it will analyse the OC Flex data throughout the year to determine whether to continue and,
potentially, to expand the service.

Earlier this year, OCTA made its mobile ticketing solution available across its %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 33777 0 link-external entire fleet false /sections/transmart/news/octa-launch-bus-app-and-change-routes-to-increase-ridership/ true false%> and updated
seven bus routes in a bid to increase ridership.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Ride sharing services increase traffic, says Schaller Consulting
    August 1, 2018
    Ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, also called transportation network companies (TNC), are increasing congestion in US cities, says Schaller Consulting. The transport consultancy’s latest report reveals TNCs add 2.6 new vehicle miles on the road for each mile of personal driving removed, increasing driving on city streets by 160%. Called The New Automobility: Lyft, Uber and the Future of American Cities, the document combines research and data from a national travel survey to create a detailed
    Read More
  • Waymo gets California green light for public driverless tests
    November 2, 2018
    Waymo has been granted a licence to test fully-driverless cars on public roads in California. It is the first company to be given the green light for such trials in the state – and it means there will be no test driver sitting in the driver’s seat. The permit includes day and night testing on city streets, rural roads and highways with speed limits of up to 65mph. Waymo insists: “Our vehicles can safely handle fog and light rain, and testing in those conditions is included in our permit. We will gradual
    Read More
  • Lyft, Uber have mixed impact on San Fran mobility
    May 14, 2018
    The extent to which ride-hailing has become a real force in the mobility landscape of San Francisco is great for consumers – but there are downsides, a report finds. Andrew Stone takes a look. Uber and Lyft, the two major ride-hailing platforms in San Francisco, are out-competing local cab firms in many ways - and are firmly established as a significant part of the daily mobility mix there, a recent study reveals. Researchers mined publicly-available data derived from the application programming interface
    Read More
  • Bird acquires California-based EV firm Scoot
    June 19, 2019
    Scooter-share firm Bird is to acquire Scoot, a San Francisco-based electric vehicle (EV) company. Scoot began deploying electric scooters in San Francisco in 2012 and has expanded in Santiago, Chile and Barcelona. Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Bird says the partnership will work toward replacing “car trips with micro mobility options for all”. Scoot will continue to operate under the same name but as a subsidiary of Bird.
    Read More

Highlighted Content