Transforming Public Transit with a Rural On-Demand Microtransit Project [supporting dataset]

On September 1, 2020, the City of Wilson, North Carolina, with support from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) through an Accelerating Innovative Mobility (AIM) FY20 award, replaced its existing fixed route transit system with an on-demand microtransit service called RIDE. Wilson partnered with mobility solutions provider Via Transportation, Inc., to be the City’s microtransit provider and expand service coverage and reduce wait times for public transportation riders. The project sought to increase access to jobs, healthcare, and other services in a rural area by expanding RIDE’s weekday hours of operation to 5:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., from the original 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. service hours. This report summarizes the development, evolution, and evaluation of the project, highlighting the implementation of expanded service hours along with the project outcomes and lessons learned.