SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) — With gas prices up and the biggest ride-sharing services now adding fuel surcharges, commuters are looking for better deals to get around.
Dmitry Neronov of San Jose uses a new service in the Bay Area called Via. It’s a shared service that mixes the convenience of rides on-demand with the affordability of public transit.
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”It’s the best deal for ride-share,” said Neronov, who uses Via to get around every day for his job in the Cupertino School District.
He’s legally blind so he can’t drive and finds Via is better on his budget than the other ride-sharing services with its fixed low rate.
”It’s four dollars a ride. And you can get it discounted for two dollars if you can prove you have a disability or you are a student.”
Compare that to the $11 to $20 a ride he would be paying on other services.
”We want to get people out of their single-occupancy vehicle and into shared rides,” said Via’s Krista Glotzbach.
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Glotzbach says the service is partially funded by cities, like Cupertino, and grants and is designed to complement existing mass transit.
Like other ride-shares, it works off an app. And most Via rides will usually have two or more riders heading in the same direction.
Its goal? To solve one of the biggest issues with mass transit.
”The final mile is a huge problem because if you don’t have this last mile of transit, you’re probably going to drive your car. So, we want to help get people to mass transit, so they can use Caltrain or they can use VTA,” Glotzbach said.
Many of Via’s drivers are former Uber or Lyft drivers. Hernan Garcia said he likes driving for Via because he works for a set hourly wage. Instead of having up and down paychecks, his wages are predictable.
Via could be coming to a city near you. It is already in 500 cities worldwide and wants to expand in the Bay Area.
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”We are working with all the cities, and the transit agencies, VTA and SamTrans to possibly put in these complementary services Bay Area-wide,” Glotzbach said.
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.