New FlexRide Service Areas Drive More Access to Jobs for Thousands of Milwaukeeans
Street-Corner Pickups Now Available in Large Parts of the North and Northwest Sides
Addition of “Neighborhood Zones” Comes as Service Grows in Popularity
MILWAUKEE (April 18, 2022) – New service areas for FlexRide Milwaukee will mean improved access to jobs for people in large portions of Milwaukee’s North and Northwest sides.
FlexRide leaders announced the enhancements a little over a month after the official launch of the on-demand, microtransit service. Previously, FlexRide riders were limited to requesting rides to jobs or job interviews from one of five specified pickup points. These five points have now been expanded to two larger Milwaukee Neighborhood Zones, from where riders can request a ride and board a FlexRide vehicle. For most locations in the two Zones, that means the driver will pick them up at the nearest street corner. They will then be taken to any workplace in the Menomonee Falls or Butler Employment Zone.
All Milwaukee residents 18 and older are still eligible to use the service, as long as they work or want to work in the Employment Zone. They do not need to live in one of the two Neighborhood Zones to use the service; they just need to get into one of the two Zones to request a ride. Depending on where they are traveling to and from, rides will be free or $1.50 each way.
“These changes are in effect now,” Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Kevin Muhs said. “This corner-to-corner approach will make FlexRide Milwaukee more accessible to thousands of Milwaukeeans. Our focus is growing ridership – getting people to work using this innovative service. We think these enhancements will help deliver on that promise.”
FlexRide officially launched in March and will operate as a pilot through the fall. FlexRide partners continue to seek funding sources to extend the service beyond this time. More than a dozen businesses have officially signed up and are actively promoting FlexRide to their current and prospective employees and have provided links to job openings accessible by FlexRide at www.flexridemke.com/jobs.
“We are always listening and learning, and we are committed to adapting to the needs of riders and employers to make this service better,” said University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Professor and Urban Planning Department Chair Lingqian (Ivy) Hu. “These changes are examples of that. We will continue to look for other ways to attract more riders and make sure FlexRide is positioned to continue beyond the end of our pilot.”
About FlexRide Milwaukee
FlexRide is funded by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation obtained by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. Via, the global leader in TransitTech and a provider of on-demand mobility solutions, powers the service using a highly efficient technology platform and shared-trip algorithms that provide more flexibility than traditional fixed-route services. Additional project partners include Employ Milwaukee, Waukesha County Business Alliance, Waukesha County Center for Growth, Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Board, Milwaukee County Transit System, and MobiliSE. Leading the UWM research team are Lingqian (Ivy) Hu and Robert Schneider, urban planning faculty members at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Yaidi Cancel Martinez, associate scientist at the Center for Economic Development.
The service is available for all Milwaukee residents ages 18 and older who work or want to work in the Menomonee Falls or Butler area. It is accessible to all riders – including residents with disabilities, those without a smartphone, and those without a credit or debit card. Prospective riders can apply to join the pilot and start using the service at www.flexridemke.com. After applying, eligible riders can download the FlexRide Milwaukee app and create an account. To book a ride, riders enter the pickup and dropoff locations into the app, which tells them where to meet the vehicle and when it arrives. FlexRide operates weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
For more information about FlexRide, visit www.flexridemke.com.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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