LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority is soliciting proposals from tech companies to help it build a software-driven ridesharing service called MicroTransit that would augment its existing network of trains and buses. The service would feature shuttle-like vehicles smaller than buses but larger than private automobiles, and it would aim to offer a more accessible and potentially lower-cost alternative to private services like Lyft and Uber.

In a townhall with press on Monday, Metro Chief Innovation Officer Joshua Schank laid out the details of the pilot program and its RFP (which will become public later this week) for LA citizens and other interested parties. To frame the service, he said, "There are many people who need better public transit in Los Angeles, that we cannot adequately serve with our existing scheduled bus network or our existing rail network, that would perhaps be better served by this dynamic service." He said that he believes the private sector partner is key, as private tech and transportation companies would know better than the city how best to implement many aspects of the service.

How it works

MicroTransit would involve a fleet of vehicles, driven by Metro employees, that would pick up and drop off passengers at "virtual stops"—designated streets and corners that may change dynamically. The vehicles would not follow a fixed route, but they wouldn't be as direct as taking a Lyft, either. Rather, they would follow ever-changing dynamic routes between virtual stops based on demand. Self-driving cars are not part of the current plan, but Metro reps said they wouldn't rule anything out in the long run if a good proposal came in.

In one use case, the service could bring carless LA residents who live outside of walking distance from the nearest Metro train stop to that stop so they can affordably and efficiently commute to another part of the city.







Faced with some of the worst traffic in the nation, LA has invested very heavily in public transit in recent years. But the city has a unique set of transportation challenges, and rider adoption of the expanding transit network has been inconsistent. Part of the problem is that LA wasn't born out of just one city center. Rather, the metro area was formed as numerous smaller cities like Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and others grew into one another. That legacy is still felt strongly today. While the city has focused on developing downtown LA proper recently, there is no definitive central hub like mid-town Manhattan to which all roads and transit lines must naturally converge. Jobs are scattered in far-flung corners like Burbank, Pasadena, Long Beach, Santa Monica, and beyond.

Comprehensively covering every square mile of LA County's sprawl with New York MTA-style subway lines may not be practical, but traffic congestion from the metro's 18.7 million people makes personal vehicles and buses problematic as well.

Who it’s for

Upper middle-class and wealthy Angelinos can afford cars and Uber, but a large portion of the population can't. They're dependent on the bus system, which just isn't adequate to the task. New rail stops are being built aggressively to improve on this network, but they're opening over many years. A service like this could bridge that gap, the Metro hopes.

“We see the price point for this service as being a less expensive alternative to Uber and Lyft," Schank said. "It’s going to be pooled, shared rides only… so that makes it a price point that is lower than Uber or Lyft.” Ars asked how this is different from uberPool or Lyft Line, services from those companies that allow customers to share rides. "Unlike Uber and Lyft, we would not have surge pricing," Schank said. He added that confining the vehicles to a given service area and offering flat fares could offer "greater certainty on how much you’ll pay and how fast you’ll get there."

And unlike Uber and Lyft, MicroTransit would be available to residents who do not have a smartphone or a bank account—which is quite common in low-income parts of the city that need robust public transit the most.

The Metro hopes that the software and routing algorithms offered by the future tech partner will allow for the generation of highly efficient routes to keep costs to both the Metro and passengers down. When Ars asked how the software and algorithms would work, Schank said the Metro is looking to its future tech partner to offer solutions. "That’s what makes it such an exciting prospect, is that software and that algorithm... Who has that secret sauce that will enable us to provide the type of service that is best for our customers?”

"We’re looking at the algorithms, but we’re also looking at the customer experience,” added Metro Sr. Director of Special Projects Rani Narula-Woods. She said one of the primary considerations is that the tech partner offer "enhanced customizations to those algorithms that will provide a better experience to our riders."

This experiment follows similar ones in Kansas City, Helsinki, and San Francisco—with varied results. The Metro plans to run a pilot test of MicroTransit in a limited portion of the city to be identified in collaboration with the private sector partner, then it will collect data to determine whether to expand the service throughout the county. "The critical factors to success are: are people using the service… and more critically, how cost-effective is it in terms of achieving the goals that we have in mind," said Schank. Performance metrics include time spent in vehicles, time to destination, and access to local Metro services.

LA's transportation situation is dire, and state and city voters have again and again approved investment and tax hikes to address the problem. It's going to take more than money, though; it's going to take a suite of creative solutions. The Metro hopes MicroTransit will be one of those solutions, but Angelinos will have to wait for the data to find out whether this plan will help—and whether a similar model can be applied to other cities.