A new management firm has been found for Benton Harbor’s Dial A Ride bus service.
The Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority Board this week voted to accept a recommendation to hire Via Transportation to take over the operation of Dial A Ride. Via operates transit services in communities all over the country.
Following the vote, TCATA Board Chair Ron Singleton said trustees have put a lot of work into turning things around at Dial a Ride.
“So we just put our heads together and staff, excellent job — hard work — and come up with something that I’m confident and optimistic that’s going to be great for this community,” Singleton said.
Dial A Ride’s challenges in recent years have included lawsuits, increased insurance costs, and a revolving door of directors. Now that a stable partner has been found to handle day to day operations, Mayor Marcus Muhammad said the service can look to the future. He also sought to ease the concerns of some residents.
“TCATA is not being taken over,” Muhammad said. “We’re not going to lose our connection with the community because different management is coming in. This board vetted and worked closely with Via. So the choice was a partnership.”
Muhammad said it’s time for Dial A Ride to stop operating the same way it did in the 80s and 90s.
Via Transportation’s Midwest lead, Sarish Kasat, said the organization is honored to be selected to run a service that’s vital to the Benton Harbor community.
“We’re really excited to let the data sort of lead us to what the next evolution of the TCATA system looks like,” Kasat said. “Data is going to be very important. I think we all talked about the technology. That technology is really going to allow us to capture a better sense of how riders are using the system, where folks are going, where people are going to and from, what times of the day people are riding. And we can really use that data to inform what the next evolution of the TCATA system looks like.”
Via will begin its transition in Benton Harbor in January with a focus on maintaining services. Meanwhile, talks continue among the Michigan Department of Transportation, Berrien County, and TCATA to establish a more regional Dial A Ride replacement.
