Fairfield joins list of cities offering on-demand public transportation service
FAIRFIELD - It's an Uber-sized shift in public transportation. Fairfield's transit system is now the latest to move to an on-demand style of service.
Fairfield's FAST transit service is eliminating five of its eight routes and adding on-demand bus service in their place. Riders will be able to use their smartphones to order their bus rides.
Diane Feinstein is the FAST manager.
"Our goal is going to be to pick up people within 20 minutes," Feinstein said.
The transit agency is already retrofitting several of its paratransit vehicles to become part of the new so-called "micro-transit" fleet. And they are also buying smaller vehicles like them.
The new FAST on-demand rides will be similar to Uber and Lyft ridesharing services, for a lot less money: $2 a ride.
"It'll be a really good deal," Feinstein said.
Rahul Kumar is president of Innovate Mobility, which helped Fairfield plan for the shift in services after it saw bus line ridership fall to just 40 percent of pre-pandemic levels, a global trend.
"You're almost shifting public transportation upside down and you say we're going to provide demand-based trips but we're going to do it where we know people are going," Kumar said. "What I see in the future of transportation isn't just a one size fits all, it's many different modes, fitting together -- Uber and Lyft are part of that, so is on-demand transportation, so is paratransit, so is fixed route."
Ordering a bus on your phone, could it be the end of the line for the old-fashioned bus route?
Sacramento's Regional Transit started an on-demand service in 2021.
The new FAST service was just approved by the Fairfield city council and goes into effect in February 2023.