Nor does she need to schedule rides at least 24 hours in advance when she wants to go somewhere. Or have single dollar bills on hand because drivers only accept exact payment.
Hough, who has visual impairment, has been using a new Uber-like ride-hailing service offered by the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority for about a month.
“It’s made it a lot easier,” she said.
Now, KCATA is rolling out the app-based public transit service called RideKC Freedom On-Demand to the general public.
The one-year pilot project enables riders to use a cellphone app to hail taxis. While the core of the service was built with the mobility of people with disabilities in mind, it is open to the general public to use, too.
KCATA is offering the new service through a partnership with Transdev and will use taxis from 10/10 Taxi, Yellow Cab Co. and zTrip.
“This is a big deal,” said Robbie Makinen, president and chief executive of KCATA. “If we can get all the kinks out of it, with the help of our citizens, it will change the face of paratransit services.”
The beautiful part of the private-public partnership is that KCATA receives a portion of the fare paid by the general public, which drives down the cost to provide the service to those with disabilities, Makinen said.