Responding to COVID-19: From Fixed Routes to Flex Routes
Responding to COVID-19: From Fixed Routes to Flex Routes
On May 13, 2020, Meeting of the Minds hosted a free, live webinar featuring Alex Gibson of TransLoc and Joshua Powers of KS Government.
Program
In light of steep declines in transit ridership and municipal budgets as a result of COVID-19, transit providers are rapidly becoming more reactive and nimble in their offerings. This has included adjusting and reducing fixed route services to provide for essential workers, but also limiting routes with empty buses. Transit providers have been tasked with the challenge of how to maintain service for frontline workers in a reliable and safe fashion during this time of uncertainty. With a slow and prolonged reopening across the country, these solutions will also become essential for the workforce that are able to return to work by means of transit.
To support cities and businesses in their efforts to provide transportation for their riders, Ford Mobility subsidiaries TransLoc, Ride Systems and DoubleMap are providing free transit consulting and demand response software for transit agencies in an effort to help them quickly deploy a responsive service that can both support evolving rider demand, and adhere to quickly-changing health guidelines.
Joining Alex Gibson from TransLoc, we will hear from Josh Powers who is serving as a member of the County Manager’s Office and is the contract administrator and regional transit liaison between Johnson County Government and the Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA). Josh brings a unique perspective as he shares insights from service changes and the re-utilization of infrastructure, to creative ways to avoid driver layoffs and the allocation of resources with CARE Act funding.
Offering expertise in reactive transit planning, powered by demand response software, TransLoc, Ride Systems and DoubleMap are working with agencies to offer on-demand services that help to minimize losses associated with drops in ridership, while continuing to provide mission-critical service. Beyond offering access to demand response software, Ford Mobility’s transit innovators are offering essential transit planning support during this time of uncertainty.
Photo by Kevin VanEmburgh Photography.
Resources
Presentation Slides
Download the slides used in this event’s presentation.
Additional Q&A Responses
Alex and Josh provided additional written responses to audience questions that we were not able to answer during the live webinar.
Presenters
Joshua Powers
Business Liaison, Johnson County, KS Government
Josh Powers serves as the business liaison for Johnson County Government, where he oversees public transportation policy and service provision. Since 2018, Johnson County has seen a 10% increase in fixed route ridership and launched one of the most successful microtransit pilot programs in the country, providing over 33,000 rides in less than 12 months. Prior to joining the county Josh served as the State Public Transportation Manager for the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and served as the KDOT spokesperson for two state transportation secretaries. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas.
Alex Gibson
Innovation Manager, TransLoc
Alex Gibson is Innovation Manager at TransLoc. With his interest in solving meaningful problems, Alex is applying both his passion for transportation infrastructure and data and his understanding how to leverage those assets to make public transportation and cities the best they can be. Through alignment and evangelism, Alex ensures that his team is able to combine data with the mission of TransLoc to become the most trusted provider of accessible and accurate transit data and information. Alex is a prolific speaker at a variety of industry events and conferences, and enjoys cats and sarcasm.