Transdev North America begins operation of The Rapid’s paratransit services

Credit: Transdev

Transdev North America has announced that it has launched a new partnership with Grand Rapids’ Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid) for the operation and maintenance of The Rapid’s paratransit fleet.

The Rapid’s paratransit service is comprised of a few different services that are made available to its community members with disabilities, and to those living outside the fixed-route service area, including car and vanpooling programmes. Each programme offers its own days and times of availability to ensure the communities’ needs are met, no matter the time of day.

In all, the systems for which Transdev is responsible currently support approximately 200,000 trips per year and the company will manage about 94 employees.

“Transdev will be supporting services that help The Rapid provide our community with essential transportation to get to work, medical appointments, and so much more,” said Deb Prato, CEO of The Rapid. “During the contractor selection process, Transdev demonstrated a strong familiarity with our needs, a quality leadership team and robust experience with the technology we use for scheduling. We look forward to our new partnership with them and continuously improving the services we offer.”

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Some of the programmes Transdev will be responsible for include:

• GO!Bus: The Rapid’s ADA paratransit service
• Passenger Adaptive Suburban Service (PASS): An on-demand, suburban transportation system that provides public transportation service to those who do not have easy access to The Rapid’s fixed-route service
• ACSET County Connection Service: A curb-to-curb service that operates in co-ordination with the Area Community Services, Employment & Training Council (ACSET). These trips are all work-related trips and may include child-care stops, if necessary
• RideLink: A network of area transportation providers. RideLink offers transportation to people 60 years or older to any destination within Kent County, Michigan.

“We are excited to work with The Rapid to provide safe, reliable, professional service to the Grand Rapids community,” said Bill Spraul, Transdev’s regional VP for their south central region. “We look forward to lending our expertise and making a positive impact on our riders and their passenger experience, through our commitment to safety, service and sustainability.”