The Citizens Satisfaction Study, the Human Services Master Plan and the Avondale/Goodyear Transit study recommend improvements in and expansion of mobility options for residents of Goodyear. A new transportation service, called Microtransit, presented to the City Council on January 31, 2022, offers a demand-response, shared ride service that will enable Goodyear residents to get to jobs, shopping, healthcare and recreation facilities via an efficient, affordable and convenient service.

Approve a one-year Avondale-Goodyear Microtransit Services Cooperative Agreement (Contract No. C-23-0046) with First Transit, Inc.; authorize expenditure of funds up to $1.0 million and approve all necessary FY2023 budget amendments to implement a Microtransit Pilot Program in Goodyear. (Christine McMurdy, Project Management Coordinator)

In the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, the City Council approved a supplemental request for $500,000 of local funds from the Park and Ride fund and $500,000 of federal funds from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for a total of $1M. The contractor estimate for the first year of service is $825,084, not including expenses for vehicle branding (vehicle branding is a one-time expense). An additional $50,000 was also approved for marketing expenses.

The City of Phoenix is awaiting documents from FTA to create an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Goodyear and Avondale to cover the federal share of the Pilot expenses. Staff expects to bring that IGA forward for Council approval in November 2022.  Expenditures will be capped at $500,000 of local funds until the IGA is approved, and federal funding made available to Goodyear.

After an initial promotional free-fare time period, fare revenue from the service will offset monthly service expenses, leaving the cities responsible for the balance.

The Avondale-Goodyear Transit study identified strategies to improve mobility choices in Goodyear. One of the options included Microtransit, which is a demand-response service, designed to connect residents in a specific “zone” to key community destinations.

The Goodyear Microtransit zone is initially planned to be approximately 17 square miles and includes major Goodyear activity centers, including Abrazo Hospital and nearby medical offices, Walmart, CTCA, Goodyear Civic Square and Recreation Campus, the Post Office and Canyon Trails Towne Center (Zone map attached), along with many others.

The goal of the Microtransit Pilot is to serve the residents residing in the zone. Despite the intent to provide this service in this area, the service is available to all residents of Goodyear if they download the app and request trips within the zone.

A Request for Proposals (RFP) was released by the City of Avondale in mid-March 2022. An evaluation committee evenly comprised of staff from Avondale, Goodyear and Valley Metro met to review the proposals, resulting in invitations to the two top-ranked firms to present their proposals in person in early June and both cities agreed to accept the proposal from First Transit to provide the management, operations, and maintenance of our Microtransit service.

The service brand is, “WeRIDE.” The contractor will use routing that can dispatch a fleet of vehicles (minivans) to identified pick-up and drop-off locations, known as “virtual stops,” within the Goodyear zone. The zone is designed to connect to key community destinations and allows trip pickups and drop-offs to be taken anywhere within the zone.

First Transit will provide three vehicles and one spare for demand surge. Two of the three vehicles will be wheelchair accessible and all vehicles can accommodate bicycles. The vehicles will be branded and wrapped with the WeRIDE service name and will include a noticeable Goodyear emblem. First Transit will provide the vehicle operators, supervisors and they will manage the day-to-day operations of the service from an office at the Avondale Municipal Operations complex.

Through extensive public outreach, we will ensure that customers understand how the system works. For example, this is a shared-ride service; multiple customers may be picked up and dropped off while the vehicle is on the road. Riders have the ability to book their ride and pay for it in real-time using the mobile app or by calling a Dispatcher. Residents who are “unbanked,” have the ability to pay for their trip on board the vehicle. The service is initially planned to be available Monday-Friday from 7AM-7PM, except for recognized City holidays.

First Transit’s goal is, “Every Customer Interaction is Important.” First Transit is able to monitor the Operators and customer’s safety and security using DriveCam, an in-vehicle video security system device that mounts to a vehicle's windshield and records the road ahead and activity inside the vehicle. First Transit uses this tool for improved driver feedback, post-drive training, and incident documentation.

Staff will be measuring performance of the service on an ongoing basis using data downloaded from the App. A section of the App allows customers to rate their ride and provide feedback for future service changes or adjustments.

Staff will provide regular productivity reports to City Management to monitor the progress of the Pilot program.