Transit Partnerships to Keep People Moving During COVID-19
By: Debs Schrimmer (Senior Manager, Future of Cities) and Paul Davis (Senior Manager, Transit Partnerships)
Over the last few months, transportation patterns and options in cities have been in flux in the wake of COVID-19. Daily travel slowed in response to shelter-in-place orders, travel patterns fluctuated as new routines took shape. Almost overnight, the global pandemic has forced transit agencies, city departments of transportation and transportation providers to respond rapidly and make difficult tradeoffs around redesigning routes, modifying schedules, and even reducing service.
While some Americans have been able to follow orders to stay at home as much as possible, essential workers across the country have needed to continue getting to work to provide healthcare services, social services, and groceries. These workers rely more heavily on transit: according to a recent report from TransitCenter, about 36% of all transit commuters work in essential industries. Frontline workers are more likely to be lower income and minorities and may be disproportionately feeling these impacts to transit service.
As transit agencies are grappling with how to best maintain mobility for those who depend on public transit to stay moving, Lyft’s Transit team is finding ways to collaborate with agencies to fill gaps in service, introduce new product features, and identify opportunities to help transit emerge from this crisis stronger than before the pandemic hit.
Connecting to Essential Services
As transit agencies have been forced to reduce service, it’s become increasingly difficult for residents to get to work, the grocery store, pharmacy, or doctor’s appointments. Trips may take longer due to infrequent service, and sometimes, if service has been suspended, it may no longer be possible to make the trip. To help provide additional transportation access and help fill gaps in their network, here’s how some of our partners are using Lyft’s rideshare network, as well as its bikeshare, and scooter platforms:
In St. Louis, Missouri, Metro is partnering with Lyft to use its ridesharing platform to provide connectivity for riders who previously depended on the bus to get to work, access major medical facilities and groceries, creating the Metro Connect program. The program comes alongside recent changes in Metro’s service to ensure that low-density neighborhoods and regions still have access to transit. This program has expanded to supplement service in areas where transit service has been temporarily suspended due to COVID-19.
Late Night Transportation Access
Late night hours have generally been considered off-peak service hours for transit agencies, and the coronavirus lockdowns have further reduced service during these times. However, completely suspending service isn’t an option, as many critical workers rely on public transit to get to and from work. Here’s how some of our partners are continuing to provide late night transportation access:
In Washington D.C., the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) partnered with Lyft to launch its After-Hours Commuter Service Program in July 2019. The program was specifically designed for late-night workers such as those in hospitality and healthcare sectors, who commute to and/or from work between 12 AM (midnight) and 4 AM. In response to COVID-19, WMATA increased the rider subsidy for the late- night program to address essential workers commuting needs. Enrolled members currently receive a $6 trip subsidy for up to 40 Lyft trips per month within Metro’s service area.
In Miami, Miami-Dade Transit launched Go Nightly, an alternative transportation solution for late night trips on nine Metrobus routes that are suspended due to COVID-19. Essential workers that relied on these routes can now take subsidized Lyft rides between midnight and 5 am nightly along the Metrobus corridors.
Supporting Resilient Transportation Systems
For agencies, these partnerships have helped lower their operating costs because they can subsidize rides on an as-needed basis (rather than providing full service along sparsely populated routes) while still keeping their riders moving. They demonstrate the role that rideshare networks can play in enabling a microtransit service and the importance of having access to multiple transportation options.
Micromobility modes like bikeshare and scooters have also played an important role during the pandemic. Across the country, changing travel behaviors with our bikeshare and scooter systems demonstrate the necessity of redundancies in the transportation network to keep people moving despite fluctuating service changes.
Enhancing Lyft’s Transit Product Capabilities
Given the rapidly evolving changes to transit systems and their service schedules during the pandemic, Lyft is working with transit agencies to share this information out to riders. Many Lyft users regularly rely on the Lyft app for transit routes and timetables — so we’ve worked hard to add real-time service alerts and more detailed information about how a rider’s transit options are changing.
In many cities, transit information is now available directly in our partner bikeshare apps to support seamless trips that may be happening across multiple modes. Now, riders can easily unlock a bike and check the schedule for their train.
Finally, the Lyft app now offers walking as a mode to help people evaluate all of their transportation options. If a walk is less than 30 minutes, it will now appear alongside Transit options in the mode selector.
Supporting Transit for the Long Term
As cities and transit agencies are swiftly responding and adapting to these uncertain times, our partnerships have helped play a role in providing immediate assistance. Despite new financial constraints and social distancing requirements, agencies are working hard to re-evaluate existing services and infrastructure in order to creatively and efficiently maintain transit access to employment, groceries, healthcare. While partnerships with Lyft are part of the solution to help keep people moving, federal leadership is needed to make sure that public transit can survive these tough times.
Drops in ridership due to the pandemic is projected to cause U.S. agencies $48.8 billion in budget shortfalls by the end of 2021, which may create irrevocable damage on day-to-day service delivery and capital projects to improve their systems. As an emergency response to this financial crisis, Lyft took a stance with a coalition of transportation advocates earlier this spring to urge congressional leadership to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). This infusion has helped transit agencies keep providing service during the short term but more will be needed to ensure longer term viability.
As leaders in Washington D.C. continue to negotiate the next COVID-19 relief package, a coalition of 27 transit agencies as well as the American Public Transportation Association are working to secure up to $36 billion to keep public transit operating. This funding — and longer term investment in public transit will be vital to helping U.S. transit agencies emerge from the crisis on stable footing.
We are at an inflection point for our cities — and now, more than ever, is the time to keep investing in the country’s transit network. Investing in public transit is critical to supporting the nation’s economic recovery.
Learn more about Lyft’s partnerships with public transit agencies to keep communities moving.
