Springfield is switching from large buses to 16 mini vans to move people around the city. The new system will be called Field Trips.
By the end of July, Springfield will phase out all its fixed bus routes.
Instead, people will order a ride through the app, online or by phone.
"You'll be picked up within a block or two of where are you are. You'll be dropped off about a block or two from where you need to go," said Sarish Kasat, Midwest coordinator for Via Transportation, which is the national company providing the software and operations expertise for this new system.
Field Trips will cost roughly the same as the fixed route bus system its using, about $2.5 million a year, according to the city.
According to Kasat, the technology will match people traveling in the same direction and assign them to the same vehicle, four to six per mini van, for city-wide travel.
Kasat said riders will have several payment options, through the Field Trips app, with a credit or debit card or with cash, and special fares will be honored.
This micro transit system eliminates transfers, reduces wait time and gives more city residents access, Kasat said.
"There are many individuals who want to use public transit from what we understand in Spring field that may not live very close to a bus line, and that bus may only come once every hour," Kasat said. "So by allowing those people to access transportation easier have the vehicles come closer to where they are no matter where they're located within the city. And reducing those wait times from, let's say, an hour to, you know, our target of 20 minutes. I think that’s going to be a really big benefit for folks traveling across the city."
Some of the vans will be mobility accessible for wheelchairs and walkers for paratransit riders.
"Field Tripp's Assist is going to be for the folks that are, you know, have some type of a mobility challenge or need more of a door-to-door service where they can't necessarily walk that block to the pickup location and walk the other block on the other end to their drop-off location," Kasat said. "We're gonna be working with the passengers in the city to give them pre-schedule and door- to-door-service."
