SacRT Launches On-Demand Transit Service in Citrus Heights

Community leaders gathered today for the official debut of SmaRT Ride, a new on-demand transit service that is being piloted in the city of Citrus Heights by the Sacramento Regional Transit District. Like other ride-share services, customers can use a smartphone app to request a ride that will pick up and drop off passengers wherever they wish to travel within the city limits on smaller, neighborhood-friendly sized public transit buses.

The pilot project will demonstrate the effectiveness of on-demand transit using an app called Microtransit by TransLōc. The app is tied to a software scheduling program that creates a flexible route for bus operators to follow as they pick up and drop off passengers. This is one of several pioneering efforts that will likely transform the way public transit is delivered throughout the nation in the years to come.

“SacRT is excited to be among a select few transit agencies across the nation leading the way in this new frontier for the transit industry,” said SacRT General Manager/CEO Henry Li. “We believe this demand-response technology has the potential to influence a broader audience to use public transit by conveniently connecting more people and places to our existing system.”

SmaRT Ride will be piloted for six months enhancing the existing City Ride service, a dial-a-ride service that currently provides 8,000 annual trips in Citrus Heights. 

Following a ride request, the Microtransit app will provide passengers with an estimated pick-up time, track their bus in real time on a map, and be alerted when their ride is about to arrive. Passengers will also be alerted when their ride is about to reach their desired destination.

SmaRT Ride service is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. The cost to ride is $2.75 per trip, $1.35 for those eligible for discount fare (seniors, students and persons with disabilities); or, riders can use their SacRT monthly pass. The low-cost makes SacRT’s new on-demand service much more affordable than a traditional ride-hailing service, which could cost riders more than five times the amount during peak surge times.

SmaRT Ride customers will also be able to request rides by calling 916-556-0258 or by going online to ondemand.transloc.com; however, trip reservations must be made on the same day.

“We are confident that SmaRT Ride will be met with much enthusiasm from our residents by bringing public transit to their front door,” said city of Citrus Heights Mayor Steve Miller. “Our hope is to see this service succeed and expand so that our many residents, and ultimately everyone in the Sacramento region, will be able to reach local destinations and neighboring communities more easily.”

SacRT contracted with TransLōc, an on-demand service technology provider, to perform the six-month pilot using their propriety technology. Once the pilot is complete, SacRT will evaluate expanding the service to Orangevale with connections to the Historic Folsom light rail station.

SacRT is one of just a handful of transit systems throughout the nation piloting microtransit technology, and is the first transit agency in the Sacramento region to offer this new type of ride-hailing service.