Arlington's Via Rideshare expands transit services in Tarrant County
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – The City of Arlington is expanding its on-demand public transit service to make it easier for people to get to other parts of North Texas.
Via Rideshare will now pick up and drop off riders at several Trinity Metro bus stops in Fort Worth.
The expanded service marks the city's continued commitment to the unique public transit option. At the end of 2022, the Arlington City Council voted unanimously to continue its partnership with Via for at least another two years.
Since the City of Arlington replaced its traditional downtown bus line with Via in 2017, the service has been steadily growing.
"We've given over 1.6 million rides," said Ann Foss, the planning & programming manager for the City of Arlington's Transportation Department. "We continue to see hundreds of new rides trying the service each week, so we really do believe that the service is fulfilling a need and there's a lot of interest for it as well."
Via works a lot like Uber or Lyft, but the fares are only three to five dollars. Riders can schedule a pick-up through an app or over the phone.
"People can book rides when and where they want to go, so it's very personalized," Foss said. "…And then a van will show up to pick you up at a convenient location, usually within a block of where you are. And our wait times average 12-15 minutes."
Riders may share one of the fleet's six-passenger vans with other passengers headed in the same direction.
Via Rideshare covers the entire city limits of Arlington and makes connections at the Centreport TRE Station near DFW Airport.
The city believes adding pick up and drop off locations at Trinity Metro bus stops in Fort Worth will be a huge benefit for riders.
"We've definitely heard from riders that they want more connectivity, and we know a lot of people, especially on the western side of Arlington, are going into Fort Worth for their daily needs or employment so we're happy to have that additional connection," said Foss.
The city hopes to continue offering more connections outside Arlington as well. They're currently in talks with Grand Prairie and Mansfield for Via to potentially start serving some locations within those cities.