SIOUX FALLS, SD (Dakota News Now) – SAM On Demand is now available weekdays throughout Sioux Falls, complementing the Saturday service already in operation.
Via, the city’s public transportation operator, launched the service with the intention of covering 100 percent of the city limits with some form of public transportation.
SAM On Demand has been around for years, but with its acquisition by Via earlier this year, the method of operation changed. The service now works similarly to a rideshare service, taking passengers from almost any point to destinations across the city not already covered by bus routes.
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According to Emily Shapiro, Via’s director of operations, the service is growing in popularity on Saturdays. SAM On Demand was also available to many people in southeast Sioux Falls for a while, as that part of the city was not covered by any of the existing bus routes.
“It’s been great. The Sioux Falls community has really enjoyed having better access and not just being limited to bus stops, but really being able to go anywhere in the city,” Shapiro said.
SAM On Demand is an example of so-called microtransit, an alternative approach to public transport that uses a fleet of vehicles to move people from one place to another rather than on fixed routes.
The SAM On Demand app is the central access point for passengers wanting to get from place to place. The app can not only organize rides on on-demand services, but also recommend passengers to take a bus if that is less inconvenient.
“One of the most amazing things about our app and our technology is that we actually plan the best route for the passenger. So if a bus is going from the passenger’s origin to the passenger’s destination, you don’t even get an on-demand suggestion. The app just routes you to the bus. So we’ve built in that logic to really choose the best route for the passenger,” Shapiro said.
The fixed bus routes will also remain. Via proposed new bus routes earlier this year, with the intention of operating these routes with higher ridership. SAM On Demand and these new routes will work hand in hand to cover the city as much as possible, keeping in mind both passengers and the city’s operating costs.
“Previously, 45 percent of Sioux Falls’ population was accessible by public transit. With the expansion of microtransit, that’s now 100 percent,” Shapiro said.
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