It is notoriously difficult to get a ride from downtown Durango after dark. Durango Transit closes its bus lines at 9 p.m. daily, leaving late night service workers, college students and tourists without safe and convenient public transportation. But that’s about to change.
Durango Transit is rolling out a new and flexible, on-demand micro-transit service called DuranGO! Microtransit, which will enable residents and visitors to summon a public bus that’ll take them to their exact destination within city limits from 8 p.m. to midnight every day of the week.
The bus fare will be fixed at $2 per trip, and $1 for disabled people and seniors, regardless of the trip’s distance. Fort Lewis College students, whom the college already purchases annual city bus passes for, will be able to order rides for free. Fare transactions will be handled through the app because the city does not want drivers handling cash on the bus late at night.
Durango Transportation Director Sarah Hill said on Tuesday that respondents to Durango Transit’s annual customer satisfaction surveys have indicated for years that expanded city bus service hours, more bus stop locations and more frequent rides are top demands, and DuranGO! Microtransit is one of the city’s answers.
The service will function similarly to ride-share apps such as Uber and Lyft, but at considerably cheaper prices. Riders can download the app from the Apple Store, Google Play or the city’s website, then order a ride and take a city bus to their destination, Durango Transit Mobility Coordinator Keith Dunning said.
The DuranGO! Microtransit service will start Oct. 18, but riders will be able to download the app before then to make an account and familiarize themselves with it, Dunning said.
He said the service is dynamic because it is a curb-to-curb program, meaning riders don’t have to go to a designated stop. Instead, the bus will come directly to them and take them straight to their destination.
Dunning said unlike private ride-share apps where one can ride alone, if someone gets an on-demand ride provided by the city, there’s a good chance he or she will be sharing the bus with other passengers. The service uses an algorithm to determine the order of picking up passengers based on their locations.
Hill said the service will launch in a 12-month pilot phase, after which she expects the transit department will make tweaks and improvements based on feedback from transit staff and riders. During the pilot phase, the city will have two on-demand buses active every night.
During the pilot phase, regular bus passes won’t be accepted for on-demand rides except for FLC students who have current bus passes paid for by the college. However, Hill said bus passes for other passengers could be accepted in the future as the program is adjusted.
She said the on-demand service is less expensive than fixed route services. For example, the U.S. Highway 160 fixed bus route costs about $150,000 annually to operate.
The city applied for expanded transit operating funding with the Colorado Department of Transportation and was awarded a $50,000 grant, which funded the development of the on-demand program.
The city looked at numerous service models before landing on the on-demand micro-transit model.
“But we are basically using this software to operate a really efficient service,” Hill said. “ … It’s a pretty useful, convenient and efficient way to operate the service.”
DuranGO! Microtransit is a similar concept to an old program first implemented by the city and then briefly by The Hive, providing completely free late night transportation around town. But the funding wasn’t there to keep the program, known as the Buzz Bus, in motion.
cburney@durangoherald.com
