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On-demand shuttle service is back on track; may debut in April
BY JOHN RUCH
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
An on-demand, low-cost shuttle van service is set to run in central Buckhead’s
business and residential districts as early as April 1 now that a liability issue was
ironed out, according to an official involved in the deal.
Hailed by an Uber-style app from a company called Via, the fleet of six free-roam
ing vans will take people anywhere in the general areas of the central business dis
trict, Buckhead Village and the Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza malls. The fare will
be $3 a ride - and free for any trip to or from a MARTA station, according to Denise
Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead, a nonprofit involved in operating
the service.
The Via vans will replace the existing “buc” bus, an old-school commuter shut
tle service that operates on limited routes only serving MARTA stations and two
office complexes. Livable Buckhead and the Buckhead Community Improvement
District have operated the “buc” for over 16 years and have cut back the service in
recent years.
Instead of the fixed routes for commuters, the Via service of 12-passenger vans
will be available anywhere in the central Buckhead area during the workday and on
some extended evening hours Thursdays and Fridays. Much like Uber or Lyft, Via
will use a phone app that allows riders to call for the van and see how long it will
take to arrive. Starling said the app also will be able to offer promotional discounts
at local businesses.
The BCID board approved the Via deal in September, with board members calling
it a potentially “revolutionary” model for transit service in the metro Atlanta area.
But a planned launch this month was delayed by concerns about liability that near
ly killed the deal. Via will not own the vans or directly employ the drivers, and the
BCID did not want to be exposed to liability for accidents or other problems.
Starling, who announced the successful deal at the Jan. 9 meeting of the Buck-
A Via-operated on-demand shuttle van in Arlington,
Texas, as shown in a promotional video.
SPECIAL
head Council of Neighborhoods, said in an interview afterward that the liability is
sue was resolved with insurance and various guarantees. She said April 1 is the tar
get date for the launch. However, at a BCID board meeting later in the month, she
said it might be delayed by Atlanta’s hosting of the NCAA “Final Four” basketball
tournament, which is scheduled for the first weekend in April and is expected to
bring large crowds of tourists.
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