CLEVELAND, Ohio – One micro-transit program that made it easier for employees to get to work in Solon is closing at the end of the month.
The pilot program, launched in partnership with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and SHARE Mobility, was designed to cover the first and last mile of transportation between public transit facilities and workplaces, making it easier for employees to access jobs. But it’s largely been underused, servicing less than 100 riders per week, Director of Planning Maribeth Feke told RTA board members during a committee meeting Tuesday morning.
She recommended closing the program at the end of August, when the 18-month contract with SHARE Mobility expires, and said she’s received little pushback from users, whose work sites were all within half a mile of a bus stop.
“They like it, but they would be able to get to work without it,” Feke said of the reactions she’s heard from impacted employees, noting that many said getting to work from public transit drop off sites “would just be a little more inconvenient.”
Employers, too, were unphased, she said.
At one point, there were six employers participating in the Solon area, but now there are just two: Wrap Tite and Amazon. Owners had hoped the increased access would help them fill jobs, but they told Feke their fill rate is “only marginally better.”
Employers had to opt into the program and cover half of the cost of ridership, which Feke told cleveland.com is “always an impediment.”
The Aerozone Alliance connector program, which started in October, hasn’t fared much better.
It had the ability to connect commuters to over 100,684 jobs, many of which are more than a mile from a transit stop and require some walking down streets with no sidewalks and little lighting, Feke said. But it has only supported less than 60 riders per week to the Polaris Career Center and Brook Park, data shows.
RTA is working to market the program better in the area, but it’s currently set to expire in April 2025.
RTA had hoped to extend the micro transit program to more communities by the end of the pilot, and that’s still the goal, Feke told cleveland.com. But first they’re taking a step back to reassess the program, “tweak” what they can and apply for more grants to make the program more successful next time.
“We learned something,” Feke said.
In the meantime, RTA is working to connect customers who were using Solon’s micro transit service to the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency’s Vanpool Program. It allows groups of 4 to 15 people to split the cost of renting a van to get around, if they live and work near each other and have similar work schedules.
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