Washington’s Kitsap Transit expands Sunday Service to three new areas, continuing to deliver multiple modes of transit from one platform with TRC’s Pingo
TRC’s longest-standing U.S. partner unleashing full potential of Pingo™ platform, delivering on-demand, flex, and commingled transit services
June 24, 2024 – New York, New York, USA: The Routing Company (“TRC”), a global on-demand vehicle routing and management platform partnering with cities to power the future of public transit, today celebrated the Kitsap Transit (“KT”) phase two expansion of Sunday Service on-demand and paratransit service – powered by TRC’s Ride Pingo app. The expanded Sunday Service started June 16 in Port Orchard, Silverdale, and Poulsbo.
The service was first announced by TRC in September 2023, when KT announced its additional 5 year contract with TRC to extend on-demand transit to expanded areas of Kitsap County. Phase two of Sunday Service was originally scheduled to launch in March 2023, but was delayed to give KT time to evaluate the potential financial impact of a November ballot initiative that would repeal the state's Climate Commitment Act and related funding to transit agencies. Despite potential financial impacts, KT decided to move forward with rolling out Phase 2 of Sunday service.
KT is the transit agency in Kitsap County, Washington, part of the Puget Sound region. TRC has been serving KT with on-demand transit for over two years, having moved over 75,000 passengers through KT’s Pingo-powered “BI Ride” service on Bainbridge Island. KT is TRC’s longest standing U.S. partnership, having been the first US transit agency to adopt the Pingo platform in the country.
“Kitsap Transit is pleased to have launched the second phase of its critically important Sunday Service program, as it’s a lifeline for many in our community,” said John Clauson, Executive Director of Kitsap Transit. “We are committed to providing every person – whether from an urban or rural area – with access to mobility. By expanding service frequency and coverage area with responsive, safe, and reliable transit, we are providing just this to those who have until now been without transit services on Sundays.”
KT riders can schedule an on-demand trip using the Ride Pingo™ app anywhere within the service area. On-Demand buses will also make several scheduled stops in each service area. Further details on Sunday Service can be found at kitsaptransit.com/Sunday).
“Since the inception of our partnership, Kitsap Transit has leveraged the full potential of our Pingo platform, using on-demand, flex routes, transfer points, and now commingled paratransit service – thus fully harnessing the combined strength of fixed-route and flexible transit services,” said James Cox, Chief Executive Officer, TRC. “Part of this is a direct result of innovating together throughout the journey, and in working as true partners, we’ve continued to improve the rider, operator, and dispatcher experience to be the best-rated in the industry.”
KT’s deployment uses TRC’s Pingo platform including the Ride Pingo™ app for riders, Drive Pingo™ app for drivers, cloud-based Pingo Dashboard™ for operators, as well as features including Transit Connect™, Pingo Journey™, Pingo Flex™, Pingo Access™, and Transit Protect™ features.
Pingo Access™ seamlessly delivers Americans with Disabilities Act paratransit services in multiple modes while integrating settings and constraints optimized for paratransit. It delivers operational cost-savings while also achieving significant gains in three areas: efficiency, human involvement, and local control. KT currently uses Pingo Access™ to deliver commingled paratransit services, which launched in December 2023. Commingled service means vehicles are used for both paratransit and regular on-demand services at the same time.
Transit Connect™ guarantees connections for riders to fixed route networks using real-time data. The feature was developed by TRC as a solution to improve the rider experience and guarantee a connection to onward transit modes.
Pingo Journey™ is a multimodal journey planning feature integrating TRC’s real-time routing technology with public transport infrastructure. Using Pingo Journey™, riders can book on-demand rides and plan their ongoing fixed-route journeys from the single Ride Pingo™ app.
Pingo Flex™ provides greater flexibility for traditionally fixed transit routes. Operators get more out of existing services by keeping scheduled stops, while adding on-demand elements to improve service responsiveness in high density or intermittently peak demand routes.
Transit Protect™ can be used by operators to set zone restrictions in Pingo Dashboard™ – ultimately boosting on-demand access for communities underserved by public transport while restricting on-demand trips for already well-served routes.
TRC’s award-winning Pingo platform includes the Drive Pingo™ and Ride Pingo™ apps and the Pingo Dashboard™ operations management tool, which together provide on-demand, paratransit, fixed, shuttle, and flexible transit that enhances ridership of existing transit networks.
Pingo has moved over one million passengers to date. To learn more, visit theroutingcompany.com, or to request a demo email move@theroutingcompany.com.
About TRC
Founded by MIT researchers and rideshare industry veterans, TRC is a global on-demand vehicle routing and management platform that partners with cities to power the future of public transit. Leveraging proprietary and unrivalled artificial intelligence, TRC delivers routing from multiple points of demand to one vehicle while enabling greater transit equity, accessibility, cost efficiency, and sustainability. Its leading product, the Pingo™ app, offers on-demand or advance trip requests and can operate in on-demand, flex, fixed, or paratransit mode.
With a team spanning eight countries, TRC directly supports international operations and customer growth through hubs in Canada, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Learn more at theroutingcompany.com.
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