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How physical, modal, fare integrations can help to reduce the private vehicle usage

A Multi-Modal Transport System refers to a single trip that involves a combination of modes, such as vehicle modes or service modes, that the traveler must move between. It is a notion that has been evolving for almost as long as public transportation has existed.

Illustration of Multimodal Transit

Source: First and Last Mile concept (Source: WRI India Source center)

Every individual travels every day by bus, car or train or by metro, etc., but interchanging between different modes in a single trip is called multi-modal transportation. For many years the concept was just a model in the books and the transit agencies believed it was not possible to integrate the services of different modes and agencies.

Passengers can move seamlessly between transit systems to reach their ultimate destinations without pausing to pay at each stage of their route. Everything is integrated into a seamless public transit system, so passengers can simply get in and out.

Successful integration between modes will likely increase the catchment area and subsequent use of public transportation, the efficiency of public transportation by reducing the necessity of feeder bus services, and the overall demand for bicycling (Mineta, 2011).

Types of multi-modal integration

From image 1, integrations are of 5 types, in which each of the types plays equal importance in a multi-modal integration process.

Main components of a multi-modal integration

Institutional Integration

Public transportation consists of many elements like land use plans, development plans and master plans, road network, public transport, and its related infrastructure, fare structure of public transport, intelligent transport system mechanism, etc.,

Each of these agencies, who are in charge of functioning, generally works independently without a coordinated plan. There exists no umbrella agency that monitors and integrates these multiple bodies in order to ensure the smooth functioning of all aspects related to urban transport in any city.

Hence, Institutional integration refers to the creation of an organizational framework within which joint planning, implementation, and operation of transit services can be carried out.

Physical integration

Physical integration is the deployment of shared transportation infrastructures and equipment to ensure seamless mobility. Seamless Mobility is the ability for users to remain connected while roaming across different transport networks i.e. mass rapid transit, city bus system, feeder services, non-motorized transport, and private modes.(Moud, 2011).

Operational Integration

The coordination of routes, services, schedules, and frequencies between the various lines and modes of the system is referred to as operational integration. In general, every transit system has its own route fixtures, and schedules are made according to their suitability. Operational integration helps to integrate the schedules and timings of these systems to minimize the resources and increase the efficiency of the transit systems.

Fare and information integrations

Regardless of the mode utilized, fare integration refers to the payment of a single fare or reduced charges for bundled services (transfers) throughout the entire system. It also entails the application of technology and the establishment of a unified payment system. Nowadays, many technological innovations have come up and made the fare payment system a one-tap solution.

Information technology has advanced so much that everything will be available under a single umbrella.

Benefits of Multimodal Integration

Cities all around the world have adopted diverse approaches to building multi-modal networks that combine classic modes of mass transit such as subways and buses with newer innovations such as ride-sharing from businesses like Uber and Lyft and bike-sharing.

Of course, the goal is to provide integrated services that allow people and visitors to travel in cities in a convenient, efficient, and economical manner.

One of the important gaps that multimodal networks try to fill in the “first and last mile” connectivity. Commuters travel daily for several purposes and if the appropriate connection is not available to the main travel mode, then they will opt for a personalized vehicle or others.

Traveling is a necessity to everyone, but reaching their destination as quickly as possible and with less cost will be the first priority to the commuters. A multi-modal network exactly works on the same principle, by reducing the amount of time to travel by removing their waiting times, so that commuters can reach their destinations quickly and with utmost comfort.

Multimodal networks help to reduce the modal share and which can help to reduce traffic congestions.

Safety is one of the main benefits that multimodal networks provide. Young people are too young to ride a vehicle with safety and old people, who don’t want to ride a vehicle, or people with disabilities can reduce the cost of owning a personal vehicle.

Most importantly, multi-modal integration can help to conserve resources, which helps to reduce carbon emissions.

Examples of MMI in the USA

Mobility Payment Integration (MPI) Program

The Mobility Payment Integration (MPI) Program researches and demonstrates integrated payment technologies in multimodal settings to support the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) priorities in income equity, racial equality, environmental sustainability, and accessibility (FTA).

Mobility Payment integration concept

Source: FTA Report

On January 19, 2021, FTA announced that 37 projects in 35 states and one territory will receive a share of approximately $15.8 million in funding. Out of those 37 projects, 15 payment integration-related projects were selected under the Public Transportation COVID-19 Research Demonstration Grant (COVID-19) Program.

Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority

The Federal Transit Administration and the Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) signed a Cooperative Agreement in 2004 to develop and test a Multi-Modal Trip Planning System. Its system covers 7,200 route miles in the 6-county region that includes the greater Chicago metropolitan area and covers a population of more than 8 million.

Their main objective is to provide

Door-to-door travel options, with transit treated as a single system regardless of how many agencies provide service for a given trip.

Includes at least transit, driving, walking (e.g., walking to transit), and multi-modal travel (e.g., driving to transit) as options, but may also include options for bicycling, carpooling, intercity bus/rail transportation, or other modes.

Uses historical or real-time data/information on travel times to enable travel choices throughout the metropolitan region based on typical or real-time transit and driving travel conditions.

Uses historical or real-time driving data/information to recommend a route for an auto trip and to compute the estimated travel time

After seven years of operations, the organization has surpassed its targets and witnessed a positive ridership through multi-modal integration. Users can view the systems of three different transit agencies as a single, unified system using the program.

Users who were previously intimidated or discouraged from using public transportation due to difficult bus/rail transfers or disjointed route maps and schedules may now feel more confident in doing so.

How it impacted the society

The majority of people use private automobiles to get to work and to complete day-to-day tasks all around the world. However, the majority of commuting trips are made in single-occupant vehicles. According to a recent survey, “single-occupant trips account for roughly 77%of all commuter trips in the United States”.

Single occupancy trips seem to be more preferable, and it comes with a cost of longer traffic congestions.

Congestion costs the United States around $121 billion each year, or 1% of GDP, including 5.5 billion hours of lost time due to traffic and an additional 2.9 billion gallons of gasoline burned. This not only wastes human time but also creates a slew of environmental and health risks, such as air pollution from automobile emissions and a slew of other major health consequences.

Interestingly, people started to realize the consequences and made a shift to ride-sharing platforms. Recently, in the last 5 years, the ride-sharing platform has shown a huge shift in the curve.

The below figure depicts how the mobility modes vary within the public in the USA. Refer below for definitions of each term.

Source: Disruptive Transportation: The Adoption, Utilization, and Impacts of Ride-Hailing in the United States

Transit and ride-hail: people who use transit in the ways described above, and who have downloaded and used a ride-hailing app.

Ride-hail only: people who have downloaded and used a ride-hailing app, and who do not use transit regularly for common trip-generating activities.

Neither: people who do not use transit regularly and who have not used a ride-hailing app. For the most part, these are car-centric respondents.

Here there is a huge portion of people who are not using any of the modes and using their personal vehicles. Hence, there is a huge scope to attract these portions back into an integrated system to reduce the modal share in the country.

Integration of public transit and mobility-on-demand services could be a great way to retain the general people interested in taking public transportation, while also reducing the negative externalities of driving.

Conclusion

Multimodal mobility not only assists agencies in addressing today’s difficulties, but it may also increase ridership by instilling consumers with appealing, handy new options. In many parts of the United States, the transition to multimodal mobility for public transportation is already well advanced.

Multi-modal transportation will become the only realistic option as cities grow and technology improves. Multi-modal solutions will enable us to move the greatest number of people in the most effective manner possible by using big data and combining existing modes of transportation.

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Caring for Carless Households: Rethinking Rural American Transportation

COVID-19 has exhibited how a world without traffic would appear. We've seen a world of empty roadways and city centers devoid of noise and congestion and many of us have accepted inescapable truths of life over the last year. We've seen the environmental advantages of not having to drive to work every day. We've also witnessed how better life could be if our roadways were redesigned to prioritize pedestrians and cyclists.

“Imagine what could happen if we made a concerted effort to make it easier for people to live their lives without having to spend so much time and effort looking for a car”

The automobile is the heart of America's transportation system, developed, built, and focused around it. Every year, traffic-related air pollution claims the lives of an estimated 58,000 Americans, causing or aggravating critical illnesses such as juvenile asthma, lung cancer, strokes, heart disease, and dementia. Excessive driving, particularly commuting over longer durations harms our mental health, interpersonal relationships, and quality of life. That's not to mention the thousands of casualties in car accidents each year.

To make matters worse, many of us are unable to avoid driving, especially due to age or disability factors. Services should be sensitive to various needs of users while providing especially when the necessities are recurring and vital. Where walking, cycling and other active means of transportation are available, our streets' auto-centric design can make these modes of transportation undesirable at best, and deadly at worst.

Usual situations turn worse in non-urban locations. Rural transit services, particularly demand-response services, which allow individuals to arrange a ride to and from specific locations rather than operating on a fixed route, are critical for families and older residents who have no other way of getting to healthcare, groceries, and other essential services.

In rural America, more than a million households do not have access to a car, time to rethink transportation.

According to the most recent ACS statistics, more than one million rural families do not have access to a car. On a national level, the majority of households without a car live in urban counties, But since the fares aren’t as high as compared to rural counties, the urban passengers spend a lesser expenditure on transportation. On average, about 9% of households in urban counties lack access to a car, compared to approximately 6% of households in primarily rural counties.

This highlights some of the major flaws in our national surface transportation program, which treats rural transit as an afterthought rather than a well-designed program designed to fulfill distinct demands than city transit. People in rural America must drive longer distances to obtain basic essentials such as groceries, banking, schools, and (most importantly) medical care. Due to fluctuating services at rural hospitals, going to a hospital for a job or medical care takes an even longer trip. This makes operating rural transit more difficult, especially on financial constraints.

Many people believe that the only Americans who use public transportation to get to jobs and services live in big cities. Despite this, rural counties account for the majority of counties with high rates of zero-car households. In fact, more than one million households in primarily rural areas lack access to a vehicle. Rural Americans without automobiles face particular challenges, and rather than assuming they can or will drive everywhere, they deserve a personalized approach to their transportation needs.

The COVID-19 problem has wreaked havoc on transit agencies, and rural transit providers are no exception. Most were already running on razor-thin margins before the outbreak, relying on shaky support from municipal tax revenues that are rapidly diminishing. With a limited crew of part-time drivers, many of these providers were already stretched thin, serving many counties across wide geographic areas.

Despite the numerous challenges, experts believe that autonomous, on-demand trips would eventually replace personal automobile ownership and that the difference in usage between urban and rural areas is primarily due to market penetration. In other words, it's not geographical disparities in income and internet connectivity that are preventing market giants like Uber and Lyft from expanding into rural areas; it's just the differences in availability of technology (ride-hailing apps).

In rural areas, one of the most significant difficulties is technological infrastructure. Both Uber and Lyft rely on reliable cell coverage, which can be difficult to come by in small areas. The technology has to be altered and reconfigured for the rural areas specifically to tackle the inconsistent rural connectivity.

Rural and Small-town driving is substantially less profitable for many Ride-Hailing MNCs. The Drivers earn less comparatively for longer drives. As a result, not only is expanding to rural areas financially risky for giants such as Uber and Lyft, but it may also provide little benefit to drivers.

Informal travel arrangements can be risky and inconvenient. Formal public transportation provides a consistent, professional service with fixed schedules and amenities like accessible lifts and bike racks. Non-drivers frequently prefer to pay for public transportation rather than relying solely on family or friends for transportation. The need for more formal public transportation is growing, and rural community organizations are realizing that they can't meet it with just volunteers.

The routes that drivers take in rural areas earn when the distance is small and the parking fees are high, rideshares are the most cost-effective. Hence, rural transport needs reliable transport that understands this sensitively.

Where are the alternatives?

Dedicated rural-friendly ride-hailing alternatives have developed in the gaps left by public transportation systems. Liberty Mobility Now, a Nebraska-based ride-hailing service, attempted to meet the needs of rural cities in Ohio, Texas, and Nebraska where Uber and Lyft were not yet available. It was distinct from Uber and Lyft in that it had a call center so that people who didn't have access to smartphones could still get a ride. Through the app, drivers were also encouraged to establish relationships with their passengers, something that isn't always the case with other established providers’ apps. With A Neighborly Atmosphere, It's Like Uber but more homely.

KVCAP - Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, of Somerset and Kennebec Counties in Maine, is another perfect example of those barriers, as they cover over 4.8K sq. miles of rural area (together with their sister organization PENQUIS, of Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Knox counties).

The 93-person volunteer driver pool does the majority of KVCAP's driving. They plan, schedule, and safely transport over 1,100 people per day to medical and social service appointments across the enormous state during Pandemic situations. The program utilizes QRyde to develop a dedicated rural transport app and that also reduced operational costs by 15% in just one year.

In this country, transportation is a well-known barrier to health care, particularly in rural areas where distances are vast and resources are scarce (1–3). Kennebec Valley Community Action Program (KVCAP) also provides safe and dependable transportation to residents of Kennebec and Somerset counties. KVCAP has continuing collaborations with local communities and social service agencies to provide a variety of transportation services to local residents and maintain a familiarity with the locals. Many clients would not be able to attend appointments if they did not have access to volunteer drivers. Volunteer driving networks in rural areas are a realistic option for meeting the population's transportation needs.

Read more at “A Volunteer Program in Maine to Transport Community Members to Health Care Appointments”

For more information check our website qryde.com or drop us an inquiry at info@qryde.com

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Feeding a hungry Nation - Meal Transportation in America

A nutritious meal is like the heart of welfare services in any successful nation. To fulfill that dream many agencies induce their program through low or subsidized prices. But here is a twist, the one size fits all doesn’t apply to the meal program. The programs should be customized to the targeted communities before planning and implementing the system. One such successful nationwide program is Meals on Wheels America.

Meals on Wheels America is a program that offers regular meals to seniors whose mobility makes it impossible for them to leave the house to get food. It is made up of a network of over 5,000 individually owned groups. Meals on Wheels volunteers not only bring nutritious food on a daily basis, but they also serve as a safety check.

Some local chapters, such as the one in Austin, Texas, offer a unique "Veteran Services Program" to assist veterans in understanding and navigating the VA's and other government's benefits and resources. They provide the service to folks who have difficulty getting around. They serve in gathering areas such as senior centers and community facilities for individuals who are still able to venture out into their neighborhoods.

The service for the elderly for sure is a concern, children and low-income neighborhoods also request attention. Many NPOs look forward to serving low-income neighbors with uncompromised nutrition standards and offering variety. While children are offered specialized meal programs in hand with their education, nurturing them physically and mentally.

Schools are an excellent resource for children whose families are struggling to make ends meet. Food banks and local schools collaborate to ensure that children have access to free or low-cost meals and consumables that they may share with their families. When children eat well, they have the energy and concentration they require to learn and grow. Many organizations assist children in feeding themselves before, during, and after school, as well as during the summer and school breaks.

Having said the importance of meal programs, let’s state the challenges incurred in the path. Not many communities access the program due to lack of awareness or their location being remote to the service area. At times it’s also possible that the transportation to provide meals to these communities is either unavailable or too expensive for families. This hampers the inclusivity of social and societal well-being. As a result millions of people; Elderly, children, and low-income families remain hungry throughout the year, helpless and vulnerable.

This clearly states the need for efficient and reliable meal provision and transportation program that is accustomed to each of these groups’ bodily necessaries. There are a few kind-hearted organizations already working in the field but there is a lot higher demand. Few sponsors employ trucks to carry and serve meals directly at apartment complexes, parks, and other sites where families spend their days to answer this problem. Mobile programs offer a 'hyper local' food delivery strategy that could be especially useful in rural or suburban areas where distance and a lack of public transit are major obstacles to access. Post-Pandemic, many borderline families got pushed into vulnerability and seek assistance.

Where to start?

We have made a board program starter guide for those companies or local authorities who which to take a step, tackle the American Hunger War. This includes planning, analyzing the community needs, aligning the organizational capacity to choose a service model for meal transport beginners. This is an assorted guidebook with guidelines, recommendations, and best practices.

The steps are a list of questions that make us draw a clearer vision of our community to be served and the possible support from the organization. Through answering questions and following the direction, one can identify the level of demand and organizational ability to successfully implement the appropriate service model for those who are just getting started with meal transport or examining chances to improve an existing program.

A spark to launch a customized meal delivery service

Overview and Assessment of Needs: Does meal transport fit in your neighborhood?

You may decide that a "conventional" meals program with set venues will serve the community just as effectively at a lesser cost, based on an assessment of community needs, organizational capability, and financial viability. Alternatively, you might find that, while a meals transport program might be more effective at reaching individuals with meals, your organisation lacks the capacity or funding to establish one. However, if a preliminary investigation (Reco survey) finds that a meals transport is both necessary and practicable, the next step is to devise a strategy for implementing it.

Code of Federal Regulations formulates a set of 48 requirements under 5 categories which have to be regularly updated to establish and maintain the service officially.

Planning and Implementation

Once you've decided that meal transport is the best fit for your program, you'll need to figure out what resources and community partners you'll need to make it work. You'll also need to dig into the details of what makes each component workable and create an implementation strategy that takes into account restrictions, operational costs, food safety, labor, transportation, and outreach.

As you start planning your meal transport program, you'll have a lot of decisions to make about where to serve meals and what resources you'll need to make it a success. In some circumstances, you may need to rely on local community partners to supply resources that your organisation would otherwise be unable to obtain. You have to figure out what additional resources and community partners you'll need to keep your program going, how to communicate partnerships, and a study to choose site locations for areas of need and potential service. Please keep in mind that, while these activities are listed individually for planning purposes, they frequently occur in tandem and reinforce each other.

Meal Service Logistics and Best Practices

This is intended to assist meal program sponsors in developing and implementing a successful delivery and service solution in their areas. The following advice assumes that a thorough feasibility analysis of meal transport programming has already been completed, as well as location selection and community partnership initiatives.

Whether you operate it internally or outsource it, you'll need to meet the demands for hot and cold meals. Choices of vehicle and route, accompanying service provisions, and personnel management.

The Hunger Calculation - Meals Estimate

The Meals Calculator assists service providers in determining how many meals will be provided and/or how much funds will be required to conduct the meals program. The calculator should take into account critical expenses and benchmark data gathered from interviews with sponsors, partners, and vendors. For sponsors who are just started or looking to improve or extend an existing program, they should also consider vehicular capacity and maintenance.

Meal transport success stories

Take a look at the success stories below and be inspired by three different transport models that were meticulously created to satisfy the requirements of kids and families. Each short story will give you new ideas and help you think strategically about designing a successful meal transport program, from real-time food tracking for veterans to electronic voucher cards, each story portrays that meal transport is more than just providing a parcel at door.

#1 Chelsea

Over 2100 veterans in Chelsea, Massachusetts have benefited from seven 7 months of innovative food delivery services. Each week, about 80–100 individual meal deliveries were made, which not only provided emergency food and nutrition but also allowed for non-intrusive connection and checking on our Veterans. The team has also handled the responsibilities of managing the emergency food delivery system for CoVID affected families. Residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are quarantined are eligible for a box of healthy fruits, vegetables, and other items.

Drivers pick up packed food boxes from a central location (seen) and deliver them to families according to a route specified on their Qryde developed mobile app. As the vehicle approaches the drop-off location, the recipient receives an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and SMS.

QRyde is also used to determine the number of boxes that should be sent based on the family's size. The Automation helped them to serve demand within reduced vehicular operation simultaneously cutting the city's carbon footprint.

#2 Real Services

Another renowned member of the Meals on Wheels program is REAL Services based in South Bend, IN. They dedicatedly work towards providing meals to low-income neighbors throughout the week. Besides providing nutrition self-sufficiency, education, and safety programs to 30,000 residents in northern Indiana each year, they also help seniors meet their medical appointments. The scheduling and automation are done through Qryde to meet the industrial level efficiency standards.

#3 CICOA

CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions' Meals & More service provides delectable, nutritionally balanced meals that are essential for good health and good quality of life. The organization, understanding the behavioral patterns of the elderly provided them with a quick and easy-to-use meal card that can be used and reused for all meals at selective restaurants. To make the data administration simpler, the voucher system is operated through cloud technology. CICOA provides roughly 8,500 nutritionally balanced meals to seniors in central Indiana each month using an electronic meal accounting system based on QRyde technology. Since the partnership, CICOA has been able to efficiently manage the accounting of over 1,200 meals for clients at 35 neighborhood meal sites and cooperating hospitals.

#4 MIDS Transportation Inc.

MIDS Transportation Inc., the agency contracted by Regional Development Centers to conduct DHS travels within its area, maintains a fully coordinated transportation system with a mixed fleet of DOT 5311 trucks and 15 passenger vans, providing over 35,000 trips and 3,600 home-delivered meals monthly in the twenty-four counties it serves.

Their technological advancement developed by Qryde optimized scheduling, simple and precise invoicing, and reporting. Because it has contracts with DCH, DHS, and GDOT, Transportation Inc. is a transportation sector leader. This allows it to fully coordinate and service the areas in which it works.

Thinking Further

There are several things to be taken care of in general during meal transportation.

Keeping the meals Fresh and serving right

Setting the right temperature

Following the nutrition standards

Providing adequate quantity for the families

Transporting it right

Planning the target households

Saving longer journey for meal deliveries

Making user to provider communication easy

Checking other necessary supplies to the consumer (Medicine and groceries)

Communicating the food allergies and necessary customizations

Real-time tracking and costing

Minimal instruction and maximized automation for the delivery tenure

Electronic invoice and enabled customization

Meal tracking through mobiles

During Pandemic

Avoiding contact

Disinfected vehicles and infection-free delivery

Qryde is a technical expert and helped their clients upgrade into a stress-free efficient transportation system through their technology. In case of further details please feel free to contact info@qryde.com

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How cashless transactions changed the public transit industry in COVID times

The COVID-19 epidemic has decimated public transportation utilization throughout the world, with ridership dropping by 90% or more in New York and London. The highly contagious coronavirus has heightened global awareness of the dangers of contacting high-contact public surfaces. Contact may be avoided in many circumstances. However, there are times when this is not the case.

Source: Statista (2010-2019)

From the graph of public transit ridership, we can see a sudden decrease in the ridership from 10.7 billion to 9.9 Billion in 2018, and ever since the trendline is showing a negative impact in ridership.

According to a survey performed by Northstar in early March 2020, about half of the Americans polled believed that taking public transit constituted a severe health risk.

With growing concern over the safety of the people and the drivers, the authorities face pressure to ban cash handling by bus drivers. Some agencies have gone as far as suspending fares to negate cash handling or fare enforcement because there aren’t any card validators at the rear doors where passengers are boarding.

When it comes to paying for public transport services, some of us are still using cash and which imposes a high risk to everyone who travels.

All of these EMV contactless initiatives focused on urban mobility are accelerating, especially because providing a touchless payment experience is now more vital than ever.

Source: McKinsey 2020 Digital payment consumer survey

Cashless payments were already predicted to expand at a 10.5 percent CAGR from 2019 to 2024, and this trend is expected to continue as contactless payments become more popular throughout the world.

More transportation agencies in the United States have emphasized the adoption of contactless payments in recent months. We've had multiple discussions on the need to be more nimble in providing these technologies more quickly.

Source: McKinsey 2020 Digital payment consumer survey

Mass transit agencies have traditionally taken cash or tokens as payment for public transportation, such as bus or subway systems. When it came to collecting fares, tokens had a number of benefits over cash.

Tokens have historically aided in the development of largely closed urban mass transit networks, in which only proprietary tokens could be used to pay for local transportation agency services.

History

Prepaid magnetic stripe cards began to replace tokens in the 1970s, and by the 1990s, several public transport agencies were experimenting with more sophisticated smart cards. Since Hong Kong pioneered the use of smart cards for public transport fare payments a decade ago, more than 100 cities across the world have adopted them.

In 1999, Washington, D.C. was the first American city to deploy a system-wide contactless smart card for mass transit. Chicago and San Francisco followed suit in 2002.

How it Works

Smart cards have integrated microchips that store data electronically. This technology allows for the tracking of payments as well as the monitoring of the ticket's validity and use. Generally, this technology is of 2 types - Contactless and contact-based.

In contact based the user should insert the card just like an ATM card we use and in contactless the card uses a short frequency radio identification chip to pay the fare when the client inserts the card within 4 inches or 10 cm of the scanner.

To get a better understanding of the current trends and issues that these new payment methods present to the transit sector in general, and the US transit market in particular, we need to understand the contactless business models in operation today.

Closed-loop and open-loop contactless payment systems are the most common. The closed-loop method makes use of a stored-value card that can only be used to pay for transportation. An open-loop system, as described in the transport sector, employs a payment mechanism that is accepted by companies other than the transit agency that issued the card.

There are two types of payment networks used by transit systems. One example is “a transportation system in which the transit operator sets up and manages its own payment system independently”. The second is a card network, which comprises “American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa” in the United States.

Examples of the type of payments

Source: The Contactless Wave-A Case Study in Transit Payments

Benefits of cashless transit

Going digital has a lot of advantages in terms of cost reductions. According to a VISA poll, transportation agencies spend 3.5 times more on physical fees collection than they do on digital charges (14.5 cents a physical dollar versus 4.2 cents a digital dollar). This is due to a number of factors, including notably decreased travel associated with collecting and depositing cash, lower expenses associated with accounting mistakes, and fewer risks of cash-related criminality.

Fast and seamless payment experiences provide a compelling passenger experience, significant operational savings, and increased resource efficiency.

Passengers no longer need to queue for a paper ticket or 'top-up' smart tickets because payment is quick and uncomplicated.

The ability to quickly board the bus eliminates the need to interact with the driver, improves driver and passenger safety, and cuts dwell and run times.

Place validators so that passengers can board the bus and pay digitally using the back door (if one is available), promoting social distancing and allowing for faster boarding.

On-time performance and schedule adherence may be improved, which is the most important component in passenger happiness.

Digital payments can also help you make public transportation more appealing and easy for younger generations, while also improving your city's sustainability.

Drawbacks of a cashless transit

According to the FDIC's 2017 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Americans, around 7% of the American population does not have a bank account, meaning they do not have a checking or savings account. So, the EMV cards can not be loaded with money automatically and the cards should be recharged manually through physical contact.

Despite the fact that smartphone ownership is increasing, not everyone who uses a transportation network owns a smartphone, and not everyone who possesses a smartphone understands how to book a ride and refill their smart card with money.

These gaps are due to a lack of awareness and complexity while using the systems etc.,

For Example, in Chicago, if Ventra did not also provide the opportunity to load money onto a card at a cash-accepting kiosk, up to 25% of the population would be unable to do so.

QRyde Single Electronic Payment System

QRyde is a closed-loop system that enables contactless transportation payments. The main purpose is to bridge the gap between the public transit or private transit operator that controls the transit systems & infrastructure, and the people by providing better and easy payment solutions without any system gaps.

QRyde Cloud has built-in connectivity with all forms of electronic payment systems and is designed to provide transportation systems with a totally cashless travel experience.

QR Code-based smart cards

Pic credits: Everything You Need to Know About Contactless Ticketing for Public Transport (Blog)

Recently, Macon County transit has implemented an electronic payment system for demand-responsive services in the area. With the help of this system, riders on public transportation no longer need to bring cash to pay for journeys. Riders can buy and reload a QR-code-based electronic card at MCT's office or upon boarding one of the buses.

Source: QRyde Blog

During the early pandemic days in 2019, QRyde provided the CICOA-Aging & in-home solutions by providing them with the electronic fare payment technology. The technology has allowed CICOA to manage the accounting of meals for more than 1,200 clients at 35 neighborhood meal sites and participating hospitals.

Source: Scan Card Technology Simplifies CICOA Meal Voucher System

QRyde provides technology for a complete back-office accounting system and assists agencies in providing better service to their constituents.

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Can Micro Transit bridge the gap between People and Public transportation?

Micro transit is a type of public or private collective transportation that employs mid-sized vehicles (such as microbuses, mini busses, or vans) to provide flexible and dynamic transportation routes that adapt to customers’ location and time requirements via IT-enabled services that connect demand and supply in real-time to provide a customer-tailored service.

Micro transit enables agencies to provide users with a more flexible on-demand alternative than fixed routes and appointment-based paratransit.

Riders can request a pickup anywhere in a defined service region, or solely at current bus stops (depending on the agency's arrangement) via a specialized app, online booking tool, or dialing in.

Top 50 Largest Demand Response Agencies (Ranked by Unlinked Passenger Trips)

Source: APTA factbook 2021

Evolution of Micro Transit

One of the reasons the word "micro-transit" might be misleading is that it's a category that's gone through a rapid evolution in the last five years or so, with new companies entering the market all the time. People have some misunderstandings about the kind of vehicles that are being used for micro transit. E scooters, rented mopeds, and shared bikes are not exactly defined as micro-transit, but they are called micromobility, which is a close relative to Micro transit.

Dial a Ride in New Jersey, 1974

Source: Jim Pickerell - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Remember those clumsy dial-a-ride services? They are, in fact, an early demand-responsive version of what we now name micro-transit, but without the technology that makes today's micro-transit efficient and easy to use for users.

Modern Day Demand responsive transit vehicles

Regardless of their variations, all micro-transit services have one thing in common. Their major objective is to increase a network's geographic and demographic reach, typically servicing low-density, low-income, and/or underserved regions that lack alternative viable transit options.

Number of unlinked passenger trips in demand-responsive transport in the United States from 1996 to 2020

Source: Statista 2020

The concept started to gain its confidence in the early 2010s, but majorly it gained popularity in 2015, the concept of "flexible routing" has been used in the United States for decades. Some early micro-transit systems depended only on set routes - while users could reserve a seat on their cellphones, the vehicle's actual path was predetermined, much like a typical bus service, but this approach has proven to be ineffective time and time again.

Hence, the new innovations in micro-transit have been introduced and its impact was evident in society.

Influence on the society

Private vehicles (or cabs) and public transportation have long dominated urban mobility in the United States. However, inhabitants of America's major cities have undoubtedly seen a slew of new alternatives that appear to fit somewhere in the middle.

Some communities even started to applaud this new revolution. “Micro-transit” is more beneficial than a fixed-route 40-foot bus or a metro rail system, which is more transit focussed than the conventional options.

There is a trend toward individuals wanting to be free of duties that aren't top priorities, such as owning and maintaining a vehicle, especially in the city.

If micro-and public transit works together as a system, there should be less automobile traffic on the road and more train and bus fees. As a result of the increased money, better service should be provided, resulting in more riders.

How micro-transit connects communities and benefits the Riders

Micro transit has the potential to improve the whole community's transit experience, altering how we commute in the future. Today's micro transit, in contrast to those early systems, means real-time dynamic routing that may alter at any time, letting users move wherever in the service zone on demand. Passengers normally travel a few blocks and catch a ride at a "virtual bus stop" - boarding at a common corner eliminates unnecessary diversions and improves the efficiency of the service.

Sophisticated dynamic routing algorithms employ real-time, on-the-ground information to add other people moving in the same direction onto the same vehicle throughout the passenger's path. In a never-ending stream, riders are picked up and dropped off. Recent numbers show that how it benefited the areas, who are having fewer transport options.

Number of Systems Offering a Mode of Service

Source: APTA factbook 2019

“Better transport services with fewer resources”. Think about the amount of time, fuels, and emissions that are saved from this innovative concept.

This innovative method of transportation not only has the potential to reduce transit times, but it also offers a slew of other advantages for women, the aged and vulnerable, rural areas, and governments and councils.

This equates to a highly efficient, ecologically friendly, and cost-effective ride.

Recently, many works and projects have been taken up by the government and many private players are also doing their part to make this concept successful and make a sustainable alternative for the future.

According to the American public transport association, Micro transit systems, which operate small-scale, on-demand public transit services that may offer fixed routes and timetables as well as flexible routes and on-demand scheduling, are being implemented by transit agencies to improve the user experience.

Micro Transit a Sustainable solution for the future?

Over the years, Micro transit has proven to decrease traffic congestion, spur economic development, and reduce the amount of air pollution. Micro transit, when correctly built and run, has the potential to enhance transit in low-density regions or during off-peak hours. It can act as a bridge between people and conventional transport modes. A system that helps people to meet all their daily needs.

Micro Transit services by QRyde

QRyde allows communities to implement TNC-like solutions for their members. Para transit/ADA Transportation Providers can also implement this technology over their existing scheduling software. It allows them to offer low-cost, on-demand, rider-funded services.

Services provided by QRyde

Source: QRyde Website

https://qryde.com/on-demand-microtransit/

Bhatnagar founded QRyde as a shared ride scheduling platform to provide ride booking, ride cost-sharing, and bidding management services to educational institutions, healthcare companies, and public transit agencies nationwide, so they can provide mobility options to those in need. Operating under parent company HBSS Connect, QRyde uses technology such as mobile scheduling, automated dispatching, and AI-based route optimization to help those organizations provide services more efficiently and economically.

[qryde]

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation: A stitch in time saves nine

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) is a dedicated transportation service provided to patients and healthcare consumers who experience requisite challenges in availing of medical appointments. According to a CMS guidebook, transportation services were specified as essential Medicaid benefits when the program was created in 1966 to benefit those households or individuals not having a valid driver's license, not having a working vehicle, being unable to travel or wait for services alone, or having a physical, cognitive, mental, or developmental disability.

Medical appointments or other non-emergent treatment are typically the focus of NEMT services. According to the guidebook, CMS defines emergency care as "any incident that puts the health and life of a Medicaid member in serious jeopardy without prompt treatment." The organization also said, "Real emergencies arise when a beneficiary's medical needs are acute and owing to severe symptoms. Symptoms could be caused by a life-threatening incident like uncontrolled bleeding, a heart attack, a car accident, or other significant trauma." Hence, NEMT plays a significant role in avoiding fatal consequences.

According to a transportation survey, approximately 3.6 million people are unable to access medical care or are experiencing delays as a result of a lack of adequate medical transportation. Medical transportation is critical in bringing a patient to healthcare on time during a typical disaster, medical emergency, or other unexpected events. People either omit traveling or request near and dear but these aren’t reliable options especially if they are under time disciplined medical situations. At times, neglecting medical schedules can turn fatal.

In June 2020, an estimated 41% of U.S. adults had delayed or avoided medical care including urgent or emergency care (12%) and routine care (32%) because of concerns about COVID-19. Avoidance of urgent or emergency care was more prevalent among unpaid caregivers for adults, persons with underlying medical conditions, young adults, and persons with disabilities.

Before moving further, it is essential to understand the services available under both non-emergency and emergency services. So the patient and his close ones understand and differentiate the situation. When your medical demands are urgent, it is considered an emergency. Having a heart attack or being gravely hurt in a car accident are two examples. In such instances, you may be transported to the emergency room by ground (ambulance) or air (air ambulance) (medical flight). Emergency transportation does not require prior approval.

Though many people are clear regarding emergency service, the non-emergency indicators are faintly understood. A few common reasons for non-emergency medical transportation include:

Traveling to and from outpatient surgery

Post-surgery follow-up doctor’s appointments

Getting to physician check-ups without the help of family or friends

Transportation for errands or other routine tasks

But why do we need a dedicated NEMT service?

Taxis or mass public transits are not viable solutions for individuals who have undergone surgery or those who are incapacitated. Hence, they or their loved ones look forward to reliable non-emergency medical transportation as a potential alternative. Customized NEMT service eliminates the risk of missing doctor's appointments providing all age groups community for a variety of medical reasons adding comfortable rescheduling and seating.

A skilled medical expert picks up the client, assists them (from bedside if necessary) outside to the ambulance, automobile, shuttle, or van, and assures safe and timely transit to and from a doctor's appointment or other destination via non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT).

Relevant programs and benefits in the USA

Medicaid and Medicare non-emergency medical transportation initiatives (NEMT) are valuable benefits for people who need to commute to and from medical appointments but don't have access to a car. States are required by the Code of Federal Regulations to guarantee that eligible, qualifying enrollees have access to NEMT to transport them to and from providers.

Medicare is a healthcare insurance plan. Medical costs are reimbursed out of trust funds that persons who are covered have contributed to. It generally supports those over the age of 65, regardless of their income, as well as younger disabled people and dialysis patients. Patients pay a portion of hospital and other costs through deductibles. Non-hospital coverage requires only a little monthly cost. Medicare is a government-funded program. It is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency, and is essentially the same throughout the United States.

Medicaid is a government-funded assistance program. It caters to low-income people of all ages. In most cases, patients are not responsible for any of the expenditures associated with reimbursed medical expenses. Occasionally, a minor co-payment is required. Medicaid is a joint federal-state initiative. It differs from one state to the next. It is administered by state and municipal governments following federal principles.

Every state's Medicaid program, however, is unique. Furthermore, each state has the option of establishing and implementing Medicaid waiver programs to cover extra transportation needs. Waiver program rules can also differ from one state to the next, and even within one state's programs. Providers are responsible for understanding and adhering to the unique requirements that apply to each State in which they provide services, as well as each of the programs for which they provide services.

For Medicaid/care-eligible persons, the expense of emergency medical transportation is covered. Hence, the family needn’t worry about the expenses or the quality of the service. Most of the families (91%) are covered under health plans hence ensuring tension with medical transport at the right time and avoiding unnecessary delays.

Medicaid pays for trips to and from the doctor's office, the hospital, or any medical facility where Medicaid-approved care is provided. Because it does not require a medical emergency, this coverage is referred to as "non-emergency medical transportation." If you don't have a working automobile or a driver's license, Medicaid may be able to provide you with transportation. If you have a physical or mental disability or are unable to travel or wait for a trip alone, you may be qualified to get a ride. Depending on your specific condition and demands, coverage for these rides may vary. To qualify for a ride, you may need to seek approval from your state's Medicaid department.

States can either administer NEMT coverage authorization themselves or contract with another business, such as a transportation broker or a managed care company, to do so. Medicaid guidelines require the transportation provider to have a contract with the relevant entity before any services are provided, regardless of who controls NEMT coverage. Even if all other NEMT standards are completed, Medicaid payment will not be accessible if the provider is not under contract.

To ensure smooth NEMT experiences few government agencies develop a network, ensuring efficiency and time consistency. HBSS’s Qryde is one of their technology partners. Through Qryde, they invented Brokered Transportation Technology, which is used by large call centers across the country to manage coordinated transportation across various government departments, including the Center for Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Developmentally Disabled, Special Education, Early Intervention, Council on Aging Services, Adult Day Health Transportation, and, most recently, Veterans Transportation. The technology developed provides unique thoughts and approaches for saving millions of dollars in transportation expenditures in multiple states.

So next time you needn’t think twice to avail a health care service or neglect your constant body issues, we got you covered.

[qryde]

Are American Rural Transport Systems just passing clouds?

The government releases funds every year to develop America’s public transit but gets biasedly expedited towards metropolitan cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. These expenditures are crucial, but public transit occurs outside of big metropolitan areas, and rural mobility challenges are just as significant.

Among these huge transportation ventures, rural transportation is often neglected to lead to unreliable public transit in these non-urban regions. Due to years of public transit insufficiency, the rural inhabitants have adapted themselves to travel through their owned vehicles indirectly consuming a major share of their family income.

Illustrated from data of National Transit Database 2019

Improvised rural transportation is not just significant for the rural to rural or rural to urban but also the infrastructure influences urban to urban movement. Any route connecting two urban areas has a combination of a suburban and rural network. Hence, in the United States, rural transit networks are typically made up of a combination of limited fixed-route bus service along highways or major roads and demand-response transportation (commonly referred to as “dial-a-ride”). Because most rural transportation agencies serve huge, low-density areas, fixed-route buses operate infrequently, and demand-responsive trips must often be scheduled days, if not weeks, ahead of time.

Hence, It is no wonder that Rural America prefers to drive on their own for their multi-purpose trips, there is no choice. It’s one of the key reasons why rural households spend a far higher percentage of their budgets on transportation than urban households in a country where transportation is the second greatest household expense after housing.

Source: ACS 2019

Furthermore, millions of individuals have no choice — they are unable to drive due to age, disability, or income, and frequently find themselves stuck, unable to get to medical appointments, grocery stores, community events, or jobs.

Lack of state financing, along with decades of little federal investment, has made it difficult to remedy the situation, leaving small areas with fewer and fewer transportation options. Simultaneously, we know that rural communities demand better public transit and that it is a wise use of public funds.

Many people believe that the only Americans who use public transportation to get to jobs and services live in big cities. In fact, more than one million households in primarily rural areas lack access to a vehicle. Rural Americans without automobiles face particular challenges, and rather than assuming they can or will drive everywhere, they deserve a personalized approach to their transportation needs.

What is the Challenge?

Before the big picture, let us reconsider a few details underlying these facts.

If you believe that only a small percentage of Americans use rural roads, you are mistaken. Our nation’s transportation system is a multi-sectoral system, with each section, rural and urban, critical to the overall system but with its own set of difficulties and requirements. Rural Public Transit serves less densely populated but sparsely distributed communities. According to the Federal Highway Administration, Rural America accounts for more than 80% of the country’s coverage.

According to the American Community Survey, almost 64 million Americans, or nearly one-fifth of the country’s population, reside in rural regions and 96% of them own vehicle(s) to meet daily needs. But it has been challenging for the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income people, and others since the necessity for rural public transportation has long been associated with providing mobility and access to important employment, products, and services.

Rural roads have a death rate that is more than double that of metropolitan routes. To cover the inequity, alternative transportation such as Demand–response public transportation (dial-a-ride), traditional and deviated fixed route services (e.g., shuttles, circulators), vanpool, and reimbursement programs are put into the basket of rural public transportation.

Rural populations take fewer journeys per day on average, but their average travel distance is longer. Rural populations travel more kilometers per year than their urban counterparts due to longer trip lengths and higher reliance on automobiles. American Rural roads cover more than 3 million kilometers and account for 40% of all vehicle miles traveled.

Rural public transportation services, in general, contribute to rural residents’ well-being by providing access to jobs, schools, places of worship, and social and recreational activities. Travel duration and distances, regularity of service, cost, and a lack of funds to solve these issues all limit access to public transit in remote areas.

Many federal policymakers wrongly believe that living in a rural region entails that everyone must drive great distances for every trip — and that the cost, time, annoyance, and pollution associated with driving long distances are unavoidable aspects of rural life.

Rural roads are used by most of us at least occasionally, if not on a daily basis.

As a result, Public Transport usage in Rural is low and unlike urban transport systems, rural residents don’t have an opportunity to utilize other transportation or walk to cover their daily needs hence incredibly increasing their own vehicle dependency.

Auto — Includes car, SUV, van, pickup truck, and rental car (This does not include ride-sharing modes be Uber, Lyft, etc.,)

Public Transport — Includes public or commuter bus, paratransit/dial-a-ride, School bus, intercity bus, intercity rail, commuter rail, and rail transit, but not a taxi, or private or charter bus

Walk/ Cycle — Includes walking, motorcycle, private or charter bus, airplane, boat, RV, and others

Ridesharing mode — Taxi/Uber/Lyft

Others

What does rural transport have?

Public transportation includes all passenger transportation options available other than driving alone. This includes rural transit, demand responsive transit for the elderly and disabled, passenger rail, intercity bus, ferries, commercial scheduled air service, and car and vanpooling.

Passenger transportation in rural areas is provided by a variety of private sector, not-for-profit organizations, and various public agencies as well.

In the past, many rural communities were served by bus. Restructuring of the intercity bus transportation industry, combined with reductions in airfares and declining populations in many rural areas, has led to reductions in rural bus service. Intercity bus services are not subsidized and are not required to keep lines open if they are unprofitable.

Then, is there an affordable and reliable rural transportation alternative? Yes! On-Demand micro-transit with trust from your local transit provider and comfort of home.

Rural Transportation requires a customized strategy for optimized functioning. The demand here is lesser in comparison to urban but vastly located while the supply has a small staff of part-time drivers, many of these providers were already stretched thin, serving multiple counties over large geographic areas. With the right technology and strategy, we can optimally distribute the resources.

For example, Let’s Ride is a statewide on-demand rural transportation portal in Georgia, dedicatedly developed by Qryde to connect rural transit riders with their local transit providers. The app allows riders to pre-book journeys on their local area’s transit service, enabling them better access to jobs, healthcare, and other services.

The networking at the state level ensures smooth multi-sectoral trips covering vast distances with ease.

Local transit providers run the service, and you may be sharing the ride with other customers hence reducing your travel budget. No more pressure to buy or lease a car.

Customized vehicles for the disabled and elderly accompanied by trained drivers ensure a safer trip minimizing transport accidents.

Let’s Ride is a free service that links users to their local transit provider rather than providing direct service.

Please check with your local transit provider for trip cost information via: www.letsridega.com

References:

Building better public transit in rural America. (2020). Retrieved from Ride with via website: https://ridewithvia.com/resources/articles/building-better-public-transit-in-rural-america/

U.S. Department of Transportation. (2021). Rural Public Transportation Systems. Retrieved from https://www.transportation.gov/mission/health/Rural-Public-Transportation-Systems#:~:text=Rural public transportation systems serve,%2C vanpool%2C or reimbursement programs

Western transportation institute. (2020). What Is Rural Transportation? Why Rural Matters. Retrieved from https://westerntransportationinstitute.org/about/what-is-rural-transportation/

Laska, A., & Bellis, R. (2021). Rural Communities Need Better Transportation Policy. Third Way. Retrieved from https://www.thirdway.org/memo/rural-communities-need-better-transportation-policy

Bellis, R. (2020). More than one million households without a car in rural America need better transit. Smart Growth America. Retrieved from https://smartgrowthamerica.org/more-than-one-million-households-without-a-car-in-rural-america-need-better-transit/

Qryde. (2021). Let’s Ride. Retrieved from https://letsride-gdot.hub.arcgis.com/

[qryde]

Rising from Ashes using innovation and technology - Ride-sharing strategies that made American Mobility proud

CoVID 19 Global Pandemic has flipped the scenario throughout the sectors. Transportation is one of the worst affected industries and within that is the pit fallen ride-sharing market. In the pre-pandemic period, the ride-sharing market has seen whooping popularity from passengers with a CAGR of 16% since 2018.

The pandemic induced fear to share a vehicle with a stranger making the market growth drop to 73.07 billion USD in 2020. Post-Pandemic, the growth is estimated to be down by 2% as compared to the pre-pandemic times.

Is this the end of Ride-sharing? No, say the experts!

The factors encouraging citizens to opt for ride-sharing are its reduced travel cost, concern for emissions, and traffic congestion. Due to CoVID, the ride-sharing market has suffered a loss of approximately 50% in 2020 itself, but the market experts predict its speedy recovery upon imposing several precautions be body temperature measuring devices, installing sanitizer inside vehicles, introducing partition between the front and hind seats, reducing vehicle occupancy or not providing share services in crowding circumstances.

Giants in the ride-sharing market such as Uber, DiDi, Lyft, Grab and Ola have applied similar strategies and a few more to protect their ridership as well as their driver communities. From terminating ride shared services in a few zones, deploying disinfection stations to providing alternative work to drivers, the companies have developed strategies. However, these stringent measures have indirectly eliminated fare affordability, which has been a major pull factor to avail ride-sharing services.

Currently, the growing internet and smartphone penetration and stringent CO2 reduction targets are leading to the high growth of the ride-sharing market. The app-based payment measure has proved to be handy during the minimal contact services directly boosting the rideshare market.

Ride-sharing: The phoenix of transportation services

Apart from these strategies, there is innovation clubbed to accelerate the ridership growth without compromising rider safety. The ridesharing industry agencies employed recent technological advances to match drivers with passengers through a customer-to-customer (C2C) business model, opening travel alternatives and providing riders with more choices. The comfort of app-based booking along with reduced costs while sharing rides with a work colleague right outside your home has helped to re-launch ride-sharing to lead the sharing economy.

Ride-sharing is a complicated subject that might be difficult to describe. To make things easier, organizations in this field are divided into two groups based on their business models.

The first is platform-based ride-sharing, which includes firms like Uber, Lyft, and BlaBlaCar that organize rides through a platform.

The second form is inventory-based ride-sharing, which includes firms like Bike Share Toronto, car2go, and Zipcar, which own assets such as fleets of vehicles or bikes that are shared among users.

Digitizing mobility solutions with platform-based business models

Platform-based business models are being used by companies to boost productivity and assure the most efficient use of their assets while reducing capital investment.

In truth, the majority of platform-based organizations do not own the assets that are essential to their operations. Sharing economy firms like Uber and Airbnb are demonstrating this by taking advantage of low personal use rates for automobiles or additional beds.

For example, UBER has long been one of the most important, if not the most important, companies in the ride-sharing sector. Their technology advancements and application innovation assisted them in winning the race.

Uber drew in a diverse client base by developing three separate interfaces/apps: the Driver app, the Rider app, and the Admin panel, which administers and monitors the app's operation.

Push notification and SMS - Uber sends SMS via the Twilio telecommunications provider, while Apple Push Notification Service and Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) are utilized for iOS and Android, respectively. Millions of users throughout the world have praised their Push notification systems, which have altered the path of ridesharing services.

Uber's innovative contactless payment concept has made transactions extremely simple and secure. In the United States, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards are used to ensure that payments and data are handled securely. For this, Uber has teamed up with Braintree. On the other side, Lyft, an Uber rival, employs Stripe's payment gateway integration services.

QRyde’s efficient solution

QRyde is a shared ride scheduling platform to provide ride booking, ride cost-sharing, and bidding management services to educational institutions, healthcare companies, and public transit agencies nationwide so they can provide mobility options to those in need. Operating under parent company HBSS Connect Corp., QRyde uses technology such as mobile scheduling, automated dispatching, and AI-based route optimization to help those organizations provide services more efficiently and economically.

QRyde is an efficient and flexible cloud-based car-sharing solution that is based on commuter transportation technology (both repetitive and on-demand) and smart, mobile-ready matching applications.

Payment Via Smartphone App

QRyde with their new innovative technology helped their clients to lessen the burden on the employers or employment centers as the ride-booking and payment are all handled via smartphone apps. All the services are handled directly via the riders so no staff commitment is required for offering the service.

Optimized Routes

QRyde utilizes intelligent cost-sharing and route matching technology to optimize the routes and provide low-cost transportation options for all. The app presents an easy map display so people can locate pickup and drop points faster.

This technology has helped to cut down Thousands of vehicle hours and Kms for our clients in many states in the USA.

Secure Data Encryption

QRyde provides secure data encryption ensuring personal information contained in both driver and riders’ profiles is completely safe. Additionally, the solution is accessible to all users, regardless of any disability they may have.

QRYDE’S KEY FEATURES FOR CARPOOLING & RIDE SHARING

Consumer Mobile App

Qryde with its unique riders application provides customers with the ability to view driver profiles and match based on their transportation needs.

Driver Mobile App

Provides drivers with the ability to view their routes, accept or reject rides as they are requested, and handle any payments.

Data Security & Encryption

Ensures that all personal information is secure as per NIST Standards.

QRyde for Ride Sharing

The application is fully integrated with most social networks enabling both riders and drivers to connect their preferred network(s) allowing them to search their own pool of connections.

Curious to know more about Qryde? Check our website https://qryde.com/ or request a demo!

[qryde]

Transportation in Non-urban areas – How demand-responsive services bring people back to public transportation mode.

For decades, public transportation has been a supply-oriented service, with supply times and locations fixed on a timetable. To use the service, the user must eventually adapt to the schedule. Such services are inconvenient for those who live in suburban and rural regions, and they are almost difficult to utilize for persons with disabilities.

Demand-responsive transportation (DRT) has the potential to solve these problems because it responds to individual demands by either matching passengers with the nearest available supply or dispatching supply directly to serve them. A centralized system collects real-time position and occupancy data from every vehicle in the network then utilizes that information to find the best matches.

Hart County is one of the counties in Georgia that are providing the “Rural demand responsive” public transportation network for the people of the county. Their main objective is to provide efficient, fast, and safe transportation with the lowest charges to the people of Hart County. Ever since its inception, Hart transit has gone through several upgrades, as its motto is to provide uninterrupted and unique transport networks in the area.

From the records of Hart County public transit, the number of trips conducted from 2014 to 2019 has increased by 27% i.e., from 9000 trips to 12,346 trips annually. These facts are showing that a County with a population of nearly 25000 is having a greater travel demand than many others.

According to their reports, based on 2017 population data, the forecasted transit demand in Hart County ranges from 29,213 to 48,271 annual trips. The transit agency provided 9,413 trips (NTD), meeting over 19% of the higher range calculated rural transit trip demand. These numbers are indicating the likeliness of transit services by the county people.

Since 2014, their vehicle count increased from 2 to 4 covering more areas and increasing vehicle revenue hours by 10%. The largest share of paratransit and demand response trips are funded by the ‘Mental Health’ category (46.9%). Other major funding categories were ‘Aging’ and ‘Rural General Public’, which funded 37.2% and 16% of trips, respectively.

Hart County has teamed up with HBSS as per the guidelines given by GDOT, to improve their operations and Issues related to Scheduling, etc.

HBSS was selected as a prime contractor to implement its Scheduling and Dispatching system across the county and QRyde developed an ADA compliant fully Integrated Transportation Management System (ITMS) for the agency where different modules like Dispatch, Scheduling, and Reporting run off the same database and all the modules are plug-n-play.

Further, the agency can use the Global scheduling engine to streamline their advance bookings and operations and can keep track of vehicle capacity in real-time.

Thanks to QRyde, now the people of Hart County can book their tickets in advance through the rider’s app and can track their rides, right from the places where they are.

[qryde]

Improved operations and management can revive Rural Public transportation

Rural America has had public transit for decades. Its suppliers face challenges in remote regions because of the low population and large distances. Even though many of these rural transportation companies have been around for a long time, ridership remains low.

In contrast to big cities, where buses run on set routes, these providers generally operate on a demand-response basis. In fact, DRT services are becoming quite successful over the years and many counties have implemented this system.

Chattooga county is one of these counties that are providing Rural demand-responsive services in the county. They may also offer bicycle and pedestrian facilities, as well as conduct transit research, and undertake safety improvements.

With a population of nearly 25000, Chattooga is a rural county in the northwest Georgia region which is expected to grow over 5% in the next few years.

“Increasing population requires improved services and new technical improvements”.

Chattooga county transit is exactly doing the same. Their Mission statement “We will make decisions that promote the best interests of the greater community, and develop the resources, policies, plans, and procedures to effectively address public needs” shows their commitment towards society.

It was mentioned earlier that these agencies are facing problems and mainly with their ridership, scheduling and capacity management, etc.

According to the GDOT reports, Chattooga County has completed 11800 annual trips in 2019.

From 2014 to 2019, the total trips have gone up by 15%, so do their ridership. Their vehicle operating km were reduced, and operating time efficiency has been improved. Their cost per trip has been reduced to $13.

So many good things over the years, Thanks to HBSS.

“Yes, as per GDOT suggestion, Chattooga transit has teamed up with HBSS to streamline their operation and management”.

HBSS has introduced its brand new QRyde software to manage their scheduling and dispatching system and introduced their fare management system to make the transit even more comfortable to the people.

Now people of Chattooga can book their rides in a day advance and the vehicle can pick and drop you at your desired locations. QRyde new powerful Global scheduling engine can help the agency to efficiently plan their trips and improve their operations.

[qryde]

Technology enables DRT services to increase their coverage area in rural parts of the country

Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as flexible transport services, is a type of shared private or quasi-public transit for groups of people in which vehicles change their routes each trip based on specific transportation demand rather than following a set route or schedule.

This is one of the most often used services that offers public transportation in regions with low passenger demand, such as rural and peri-urban areas, where regular bus service is not deemed financially viable.

This is the story of one of these counties that are providing a Rural demand responsive system. Pierce County in the Southern Georgia Region is a predominantly rural area who are providing rural DRT services to the county people.

With a population of nearly 20000, Pierce is a beautiful place to live, and it is expected to increase by 10% in the next few years.

“Increased population leads to increased demand for services” hence, Pierce Transit started to improve their services in collaboration with HBSS.

HBSS provided their QRyde software to the county transit, to streamline their online operations and scheduling, dispatching process and Call center management, etc.

Their numbers have consistently shown some positive signs over the years after their collaboration with HBSS.

According to their reports, they completed almost 12200 annual trips in 2019, which is a huge boost to their agency. From 2014-19, they have experienced some constant growth rates over the years.

Their Vehicle operating km are cut down by 26% and Operating time has also come down by 30% approx. All this has been made possible with their new technological inclusions.

Yes! QRyde with its advanced software allows the agencies to use their strong Global scheduling engine to efficiently plan and organize trips.

This helps both the parties i.e., Agencies to maximize their operations and people to enjoy the comfort being provided to their doorstep.

Now people of Pierce county can book their rides in advance and can have a track all the time.

[qryde]

Revamping DRT services for a new era of smart transportation.

There has been a challenge requiring every passenger to register to alter the route depending on real demand. Recently, this concept is gained importance in most of the states in the United States. Brantley county is one of those areas that are doing significant work in improving DRT services in the county region.

Brantley County is in the Southern Georgia Region and offers rural demand-response transit. With a small population of 18000, Brantley County is one of the finest places to live in the state and is expected to increase by 8% in the next few years.

“Increasing population comes with Increasing demand in terms of infrastructure and mainly services”.

According to the GDOT reports, county transit has completed 1100 annual trips in 2017 and their previous year’s data show that there is an increase of 60% in 2 years.

An increase of 60% in daily trips is clearly indicating the level of travel demand in the area.

The vehicles are designed according to the ADA rules because 2,258 persons have ambulatory difficulty, meaning they have difficulty moving about under their power. Hence their goal is to provide a transit service “that should be open to all residents with utmost safety and security”.

According to the GDOT, the Brantley transit is following 5311 rural public transit programs.

Recently as a TPO, Brantley transit has teamed up with HBSS to implement new technology, which can allow them to intelligently plan their schedules and dispatching systems and streamline the bookings, etc.,

HBSS on July 1st, 2021, released their Let’s Ride application in the county region to make the transit even more accessible than before. The Let’s Ride app connects you to your local rural transit provider, Book trips to school, work, medical appointments, shopping centers, anywhere rural transit is available! Rural transit is a public service that’s available to anyone who requests a ride within a rural transit service area.

[qryde]

Brand new Let`s Ride App for better efficiency and quality of services – A story of Ware county transit GA

Working with a scattered population is a serious issue for rural transportation. Many concepts are being implemented and each one of them has its own complications. In recent years, Demand-Responsive Transit (DRT) has evolved significantly and is seen as a sustainable option for the long term.

With a population of nearly 35000, the county is famous for its small-town charm, and according to their county reports, the town will experience a 9% increase in population in the next few years.

Increasing population indicates Increasing travel demand which should be considered a high priority. And that is what Ware County transit is doing.

From the reports released from the GDOT, Ware transit has provided nearly 20000 trips in 2019. In fact, they are providing an annual average of 18,035 trips over the last five years using 6, ADA-accessible vans. When looking at all the vehicle-based data, Ware County is doing very well at providing public and coordinated transportation trips to residents.

In recent years, the global pandemic has affected everyone resulting in a dip in ridership. But the efforts are made by the county transit to bring back the users to public transportation. As their main goal is to provide safe and sustainable services which should give maximum comfort to the people of the county.

Similar to many other counties, Ware transit also faced some problems with their frequency of vehicles and their occupancy, their dispatching system, etc., To manage and improve their operations, they partnered with HBSS.

They launched a brand-new Let's Ride application, built by HBSS, on July 1st, 2021. HBSS officials claim on their website that their software is a strong tool for streamlining and managing operations in a variety of industries.

The Let’s Ride app connects rural transit riders to their local transit providers statewide, by allowing riders to book trips in advance on their local area’s rural transit service.

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Is rural public transit accessible, available, and reliable? A Story on Dawson County Transit

As technology has progressed, new options have developed to change how rural transportation is built in flexible ways, allowing for greater availability and cost. Consequently, implementing demand-responsive Transport has become a common solution for rural areas over the years facing rising challenges. Dawson County is one of these areas that are providing Rural demand-responsive services in the state of Georgia.

Dawson County’s main goal is to provide public transportation and make sure that each Dawson County Transit Client is served in a timely manner and receives professional experience. They strive to be one of the best-coordinated transportation systems in our area.

With a population of 250000, the county has experienced 16,476 trips in 2019, which is in fact their highest number of trips carried out annually. These numbers in comparison to previous year’s records, there is a growth rate of 41% increase in trips conducted between 2010-19. At present, county transit is operating four buses, all equipped with wheelchair lifts.

Any transit agency will go through some hard phases. Rural commutes or journeys are often lengthier than those in metropolitan areas. As a result, rural operators are finding it difficult to justify the expense of some routes, resulting in reduced service coverage and frequency.

Similarly, the people of Dawson County are also facing the same problems with availability and quick services. Thankfully, GDOT has tied with HBSS to address the common issues facing transit agencies.

HBSS introduced their new and advanced QRyde cloud-based software technology, which can help the agencies to schedule and dispatch their vehicular trips, manage their operations, optimize their routes, and many more.

QRyde can apply smart algorithms to optimize the routing and scheduling of demand-responsive Transport fleets, operational savings can be made and more passengers across larger geography can be serviced.

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The ABCDs of Rural Transportation in Georgia: Accessible, Bridging, Convenient, Dependable;

It's no secret that public transportation continues to be a problem for rural towns. With financial challenges, service frequency, broader travel zones, and a lack of access to services compared to metropolitan public transportation, councils, and governments in rural regions are in more need than ever to enhance their transportation services.

Every one in five people in the United States lives in a rural community. The transit agencies are every bit to improve the public transport scenes in the country. Jackson County transit is one of these agencies that are providing rural public transportation services designed to allow convenient, dependable, accessible transportation for Jackson County residents.

Jackson County’s Section 5311 Rural Transportation Program has been included within the General Fund as a department of the Health and Welfare function. It continues to experience increases in demands.

According to the county reports, the transit agency has completed 14,500 passenger trips in the year 2019. Ever since its inception, every year has been a success for them.

“From 8000 trips in 2014 to 14500 trips in 2019, that is 44% increase in 5 years”.

Not only this, but their new inclusion of technologies has also allowed them to reduce their Vehicle operating km and to increase their service hours.

Jackson County Transit offers three 10-passenger vans, equipped with lifts and they carry out a Shared-Ride Service, meaning that several individuals may be on-board the vehicle and en route to their destination.

GDOT and its sub-client Jackson County have teamed up with HBSS to streamline their operations and manage their scheduling, dispatching, bookings of tickets and for route rationalization, etc.

QRyde software has helped them with ADA compliant fully Integrated Transportation Management System (ITMS) where different modules like Dispatch, Scheduling, and Reporting run off the same database, and all the modules are plug-n-play.

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TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE TRANSIT SERVICES - Here is how Catoosa county is doing things

Being called the “Gateway of Georgia”, Catoosa County is one of the most desirable places to live in Georgia state. Today, Catoosa County’s dedication to providing recreational opportunities means that biking, walking, and canoeing are also popular ways of getting around. Over the years, the community is getting more important and likable to live, due to its better connectivity and proximity with the Chattanooga Metropolitan area.

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With a population of 67000, The county is well administered by a group of officials from the Catoosa County board. Catoosa Trans-Aid operates a rural public transit system in the area. Rural demand response provides service throughout the service area of Catoosa County.

Considering any urban area, activity centers are the heart of the community and should combine a wide range of uses, including places for shopping, employment, recreation, and civic activity. Catoosa’s transit service connects riders to healthcare and other amenities and enables them to make social connections and travel in the community.

According to their recent numbers released by the county, they have conducted almost 30,000 trips during the year 2019. In the same year, they have registered around 2500 unique riders in the county. At present, there are a total of 10 vehicles that are deployed for demand-responsive services in the area. These numbers in comparison to their previous records explain why they are considered as one of the successful agencies over the years.

The county offers a federally funded public transit service where residents call to request transportation. Their reports show that from 2010-2019 there is an increase of 32% daily Trips in the county. In these 9 years, their vehicle revenue hours are reduced by 5%, and revenue miles are increased by 15%.

The largest share of demand response trips provided during the month of April was funded by the Public Transit (5311) program (70.3%). The remaining trips were funded by the DHS Aging program (29.7%).

One of their main concerns is scheduling and Dispatch. As per the guidelines given by the GDOT, addressing the common issues over scheduling, automated fare collection, etc QRyde reduces the high cost of technology barrier for communities, agencies, and its cost-per-ride pricing model beats, by a large margin, the hundreds of thousands of dollars that are needed for the optimization of transportation systems.

Catoosa County equipped all their vehicles with QRyde supported tablets and a portal for managing all their operations.

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More coverage, better schedules, Increased ridership – Do you know how they are doing all at once?

Depending on the needs of their community, departments of transportation or private providers can organize modes of transportation into a transit system. Some agencies may provide fixed-route services, or some may provide only demand-responsive services or some agencies provide both of these kinds.

Hall county transit which is popularly called HAT is one of those agencies which provide an “urban fixed-route bus system, as well as a county-wide rural demand-response transit service”.

With a population of nearly 200,000 in 2017, Hall Area Transit’s current and long-term focus as a transportation provider is on maintaining the best-coordinated transportation system possible for this community.

Their goal is to create a coordinated system with the objective of “providing safe, reliable, timely and efficient transportation services” to county residents.

Ever since 2001, HAT has been providing fixed route and demand-responsive services to the county people.

In 2017, Hall Area Transit provided 137,409 fixed-route bus trips and 24,962 demand-response trips. According to their forecasts, transit demand in the rural portions of the area ranges from 27,932-54,551 annual trips. Hall Area Transit provided 24,962 trips (NTD), meeting over 45% of the higher range calculated rural transit trip demand.

Hall County, Ga., has faced several difficulties expanding access to public transit. The expanded urban zone, and a largely rural region surrounding it.

To tackle the situation, the HALL county has teamed up with HBSS to improve their Scheduling and Dispatching, voice responsive notification services, and automated fare collection system and their operations.

The county transit is now equipped with QRyde software to manage and streamline its operations. The funding for the operations is completely coming from different organizations.

This has been their success story over the years and according to their projections for the future! Their task is still a mountain to climb.