Belleville bus (Photo: City of Belleville)
Belleville is setting up its special late night bus as what you might call a ride-hailing Uber-type service.
For a year Belleville transit has been operating a late night circular route bus, Route 11, after the regular bus hours.
Now there’s an App for that.
The irregular bus goes around the city perimeter, by the casino and out to Loyalist College, after the regular service shuts down at midnight.
Currently riders have to phone ahead the day before and book a time and place.
Under the new system they can download an App to their phones to book the time, pickup location, and drop-off location, at any time during those late night hours.
Transit manager Paul Buck.
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Buck says it will be faster and save money.
Buck tells Quinte News that, after one year, the city will be able to compare the numbers, both ridership and costing, with the one-year service before the App.
The experiment is a partnership with Toronto-based company Pantonium to conduct the experiment. For Pantonium it’s the first step into route optimization for a public transit system. It’s a move away from the one-size fits all solutions in busing.
Buck says staff training is underway this week and the system begins on Monday.
