On-demand rideshare service MicroCAT has provided, on average, 190 rides a day since service began in October 2023. Staff photo.
For over two years, a fleet of minivans has traveled thousands of miles across Albemarle County’s growth areas, carrying passengers as part of an experiment in on-demand public rideshare transport in a locality with limited bus service.
A feasibility study for the MicroCAT service anticipated 100 rides a day, but ridership has been much higher. Service began on October 30, 2023.
“As of the two-year period, they have 120,060 rides that have been completed,” said Kevin McDermott, Albemarle’s deputy planning director. “This works out to be closer to about 190 rides a day on average over that period.”
Charlottesville Area Transit won a bid to offer the service and, in turn, contracted it to a company called Via, which handles all of the logistics. Initial funding came from a $1.552 million grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and $388,000 from Albemarle.
The service area covers Pantops and what the county refers to as Places29. The top three origins and destinations are the Walmart Supercenter, Mallside Forest Apartments, and T.J. Maxx.
McDermott said the data will inform future decisions Albemarle might make, such as further investments in fixed-route transit.
Albemarle will pay $1.3 million for the service in the current fiscal year. Capacity is limited by the county’s budget, which has enough to cover 380 hours of driving time a week. However, there are times when there are not enough drivers to cover that amount.
“We stopped advertising for this service because realistically we couldn’t fit any more people on this,” McDermott said.
The grant funding has run out, and Albemarle County is paying for the service through June 30, 2026, the end of the fiscal year. McDermott said there is an option to renew if Supervisors are willing to continue paying. Another option is to change the service so it takes passengers to existing transit routes, where they can continue their journey.
Supervisor Ned Gallaway said he has heard from many constituents who use the service and have come to rely on it.
“It’s just about making people be able to move around without having to drive themselves,” Gallway said. “And I think it gives freedom and independence.”
Gallaway said he could imagine new fixed route transit lines to complement MicroCAT, but the door-to-door service is a good first step. The northernmost CAT stop at the moment is Walmart on U.S. 29. Jaunt runs a commuter service to the North Fork Discovery Park.
Supervisor Michael Pruitt, a member of the Charlottesville Albemarle Regional Transit Authority, said he supports the service, but said the county should consider ways to contain the cost of the service. He also said he wants better collaboration with the University of Virginia on ways to move people around the community.
“My secret Pollyanna hope is always a transit system that looks like Blacksburg, where we have a unified transit system and the state pays for it through the university,” Pruitt said. “That is such an optimistic thing, but it’s something I want to lean into.”
A decision on whether to continue funding MicroCAT will come during the budget cycle next year.
