Sioux Falls transit to expand on-demand service in part of the city

Southeast Sioux Falls residents soon will be able to ride public transportation on demand Monday through Friday.

Via, which was hired as the city’s transit manager this year, will begin offering the on-demand microtransit service April 15. It expands on service that has been offered on Saturdays.

On weekdays from 5:15 a.m. to 9:15 p.m., riders in southeast Sioux Falls will be able to use Sioux Area Metro, or SAM on Demand, services to request a pickup from a site within walking distance of their home. Within the southeast service area, they can request a drop-off near a specific location. Or, they can be taken to the Southwest Transfer Center, which will then connect to bus lines routing to other destinations. An app guides riders along the way.

This is the area where the weekday on-demand service will apply, essentially as far east as Veterans Parkway, as far south as 69th Street and as far west as the Avera Heart Hospital:

The city and Via estimate that the new service opens up public transportation to 40,000 people, along with access to 13,000 jobs. Fares will be $1.50, and ride passes that offer more savings can be used.

“We’re very excited to announce our first phase of expansion,” said Emily Shapiro, who has served as interim general manager in launching Via in Sioux Falls. “This is the first of multiple phases that we’ll go through in terms of evolving public transit and making it more rider-centric and efficient.”

While rides can be booked by phone, “we’re trying to start to show the community how you can use our app to connect on demand to an existing fixed route and use the modes in complementary ways,” she continued. “That will allow us to be efficient but also meet riders’ needs and come to where they are.”

The transition of service providers has “gone very, very smoothly,” said Jeff Eckhoff, the city’s director of planning and development services. “The goal has been to improve the rider experience and find efficiencies through the use of the technology Via has brought to us. We’ve accomplished those goals, and we’re now at the stage where we’re ready to go to the next stage.”

The new on-demand expansion also will reach 37 requested stop points the public asked for during recent transportation planning.

“The ability to expand beyond our fixed routes is huge,” Eckhoff said. “We’re just really excited by what we’re going to see come from this.”

Riders will be transported using smaller vehicles, including a newly purchased minivan that is wheelchair-accessible. Seven drivers have been added to support increased service, and the plan is to hire more.

Since Via and Sioux Falls’ partnership started Jan. 1, the SAM network has seen growing ridership and strong operational performance, according to Via.

It reported that SAM On Demand ridership was up 25 percent compared with last year, and more than 80 percent of total rides were booked in the app. The overall system has maintained a disruption-free service record so far this year and also is achieving increased ridership, it said.

“Our transit system has been virtually the same for 30-plus years or more,” Eckhoff said, adding that it became especially clear during the pandemic that “we needed to reinvent how we did things. … Let’s retake a look at how we can make the service better, more user-friendly but also expand it through efficiencies we’re gaining.”

Via SAM On Demand will continue to be available on Saturdays citywide from 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. To learn more about the service, click here.