The city of Longmont announced on Friday that it received $450,000 to begin a microtransit program.
The program is designed as a hybrid between Uber or Lyft and Flexride. A customer would be able to place a call and be dropped off at a location within 30 minutes. That drop-off point could be a landmark or other point near the destination. Alternatively, the service could drop a rider off at a bus stop that would connect them to their destination, said Phil Greenwald, transportation planning manager. The microtransit system would create a public transportation system that services areas that RTD buses currently do not.
Greenwald said the program is expected to cost $1.4 to $1.5 million dollars in the first year, with costs expected to drop in the following years. The RTD grant awards $450,000 in 2024 and $350,000 in 2025 and 2026. A stipulation of the grant is that project sponsors are required to match at least 20% of the grant funds.
“It is imperative that RTD partner with local governments and organizations to help communities meet their mobility needs,” said General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson. “Each of the projects selected through the 2023 Call for Projects commits to bring new or enhanced services, providing customers throughout the Denver metro region with more choices and benefits.”
Longmont was waiting to hear from RTD about this grant so it could know how much funding it needed to budget or how much to seek in other grants, Greenwald said.
The program would be delivered through a third-party vendor, Greenwald said. Currently, the city of Longmont does not have the resources to staff or monitor its own transit service. Ideally, the service would span across all of Longmont, however, if the funding is not available, the plan may have to change, Greenwald said.
Those changes could include the city taking on more responsibility for the program or limiting the service until other funding is available.
Greenwald expects there will be a cost associated with the program but the fee is expected to be nominal, he said.
In the next few months, Longmont will put together a scope of work and begin accepting bids on the service. In the winter months of 2024, he expects that the city will create a marketing and education plan to inform the community more about the program.
“I’m just hoping that people can realize how this might work for them,” Greenwald said.
