RideCo, a leading provider of on-demand transit systems announced the award of a contract from Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority for microtransit technology and design services. RideCo was the top-ranked firm in a competitive RFP process that included 203 firms on the planholders’ list and eight firms, with a combined $100 billion+ market cap, that submitted proposals.
The service will offer current and future Metro customers the ability to use cell phones to order, pay for, and monitor the status of their pickup and drop off in Metro vehicles. The service will not be tied to a fixed route or schedule. Instead, Metro customers will be able to request a ride when they need it in real time. The new on-demand service will initially be deployed in smaller zones throughout the County as to determine customer demand and financial viability.
In the procurement report, LA Metro stated, “RideCo demonstrated expertise in emerging on-demand technologies, experience with launching on-demand services, effective project management, quality control and risk, and a skilled team of project personnel demonstrating in-depth emerging technology. Most notably unique to RideCo’s expertise is the advance knowledge of on-demand and emerging technology and the ability to leverage data and analytics to model opportunities for new deployments.”
We are thrilled with the opportunity to work with LA Metro’s forward-thinking Innovation Team, to place user experience at the core of transit design and make public transit more attractive to current and new customers of Metro.
— Prem Gururajan, CEO, RideCo
Click here to read the full announcement from LA Metro.
RideCo’s technology platform enables fleets of vans, shuttles and buses to become on-demand, shared, and dynamically routed. Our platform powers vehicles across North America and Asia in both public and private sectors. We are a full-service organization with experience performing planning, service design, technology customization / white labeling, payment integration, operational support, and ongoing performance optimization. Our dynamic routing platform supports the broadest use cases in the market, including (i) mixed fleets with sedans, vans, shuttles and buses, (ii) ability to book rides on-demand as well as pre-scheduled, and (iii) virtual-stop to virtual-stop service, door-to-door service, door-to-hub/office, and combinations thereof. RideCo’s platform has a 99.9%+ uptime performance record and service level guarantee. Our reliable, proven, and versatile platform means the world’s largest transportation operators trust RideCo to power their dynamic transit services. For more information, please visit: http://www.rideco.com.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is unique among the nation’s transportation agencies. We serve as transportation planner and coordinator, designer, builder and operator for one of the country’s largest, most populous counties. More than 9.6 million people — nearly one-third of California’s residents — live, work, and play within our 1,433-square-mile service area.
Metro has set a goal to be the most innovative transportation agency in the country, ensuring that we are using every tool at our disposal to help improve mobility in LA County. With that in mind, the Office of Extraordinary Innovation was established to explore new ways to move LA by finding and testing leading-edge ideas that have potential to improve mobility for the people in the region. From public private capital partnerships to cutting edge new technologies, OEI is tasked with identifying, evaluating, developing, and implementing these new approaches. These efforts may be undertaken by Metro on its own or jointly in collaboration with private sector firms through public-private partnership agreements.
