MORGANTOWN — Uber may be the pioneer of ridesharing apps, but it’s got nothing on public transit when it comes to longevity in the people-moving game.
Now, for the first time in West Virginia, old school and new school are coming together.
As part of Wednesday’s regular transit authority meeting, CEO Dave Bruffy said Mountain Line is partnering with ridesharing powerhouse Uber in an effort to increase coverage in its least-served areas and more efficiently distribute resources.
He said the goal is to start a six-month trial period in early-to-mid-May targeting specifically the areas served by Mountain Line’s Mountain Heights and Grafton/Fairmont Road routes.
“If you’re within the geographic service area, Uber Mon will appear as one of the options when you pull up the Uber app on your smartphone,” he said. “So that entire geographic area is going to be covered by three vehicles from 7 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.”
There will be no additional cost for using the service. Bus passes will be accepted. For those paying cash, a ride will cost 75 cents.
Passengers can be picked up and dropped off anywhere in that coverage zone, including three Mountain Line connection points — Goodwill in Sabraton, Walmart on Hornbeck Road and the Mountaineer Mall plaza.
Bruffy said the two routes included in the trial are two of the least serviced, and least accessible by bus, in Mountain Line’s service area
“Throughout the course of the demonstration we’re going to try to push people to try this service. Our goal would be, at the end of the six-month demonstration project, to not have anybody on those regular route buses. Then we could eliminate that service and utilize those resources somewhere else,” he said.
He added, “Say you live on the Kingwood Pike and you wanted to come to Walmart. You’d have to come to Westover, transfer to another bus and go back out. Then reverse that when you’re going home. Your ice cream might melt. Now, you can call for the Uber service and we’ll take you to Walmart and drop you off. Then we’ll pick you up when you’re ready and take you home.”
The shared rides will be provided in Mountain Line vans driven by Mountain Line employees. Riders will even have the option to tip their drivers.
Bruffy said Scott Avenue will not be included in the Uber project due to the increased service Mountain Line is already providing there in response to Hazel’s House of Hope.
But like all other aspects of this trial run, that may change once the data starts flowing in.
If successful, Bruffy said he can see the Uber partnership expanding to other coverage areas as well as to potentially supplement evening offerings for individuals looking to head out on the town.
“I just think there are really a variety of places where this could be expanded, if it works,” he said.
Mountain Line will pay Uber a one-time setup fee as well as a per-vehicle fee. The total cost of the six-month trial will be about $38,000.
