New Rochelle is expanding the free on-demand electric vehicle shuttle service that has been running in its downtown since August 2019. It is adding three more of the minibuses to the three already in service and is doubling the size of the service area. The expansion is expected to be in full effect by Memorial Day.
When pedestrians want to become riders, they can flag down one of the vehicles or use a cellphone app to summon one.
The service started as a six-month pilot program, funded with $164,000 from the city”™s industrial development agency. Circuit, the company that operates similar services in six states, oversees the Circuit NR service.
Some of the money New Rochelle received as part of federal CARES Act will be used for the service expansion. Because transportation plays an important role in the ability of people to cope with the impact of Covid-19 and to obtain medical care, city officials felt the use of such funding is appropriate to help expand the shuttle service. The service transported health care workers during the peak of the pandemic through a plan developed with Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital and others.
“By expanding this highly-popular service, we enable more New Rochelle residents to take advantage of a convenient, sustainable transportation option, while also providing more equitable access to vaccination sites and medical care, which is especially critical to our region”™s recovery,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson.
The vehicles comply with protocols to combat the spread of the virus in that they have partitions between rows, are thoroughly cleaned three times per day, have open air options and individual doors for every rider. All drivers wear appropriate personal protective equipment and are regularly tested for the virus.
Since the service started, there have been more than 50,000 riders. The vehicles have traveled more than 60,000 miles around New Rochelle without the use of gasoline.
A spokesperson for New Rochelle told the Business Journal that when the service started, a majority of the trips were to and from the Metro-North Railroad station, but as commuting essentially shut down during the pandemic there was a shift from train station trips to those involving trips to workplaces, grocery stores and for other errands. As more businesses reopen, the number of train station trips has been increasing.
Last fall, Circuit NR received the Clean Air NY Champions Award from the New York State Department of Transportation. At that time, it was estimated that the program had prevented the release of 15 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
