The city of Gastonia, North Carolina, is gearing up to transform its public transportation with the introduction of GoGastonia, a new rideshare service that promises to bring on-demand microtransit to its residents. According to a city press release, officials are set to cut the ribbon on this innovative service on Sunday, and it's slated to go live next Tuesday. The new system is designed to offer a more efficient and accessible travel experience as the city continues to grow, particularly for those who might have found fixed bus routes limiting.
Mayor Richard Franks expressed the city's vision behind this transition, stating, "We saw a need to provide on-demand microtransit transportation to our residents as our city continues to grow." This move aims to seamlessly replace the current six fixed-route bus systems with a fresh and flexible microtransit alternative, reflecting an active response to the annually taken approximately 144,000 trips within the city's transit system. GoGastonia will be operated in partnership with Via, a company specializing in on-demand public mobility solutions. "Via is excited to work with the City of Gastonia to bring increased transit coverage and frequency to more people than ever before through Via’s flexible, on-demand technology and operational expertise," said Jake Bortz, East Coast Partnerships Lead at Via, as per the city's announcement.
For those looking to understand how GoGastonia will set itself apart, it borrows the real-time ride-hailing premise from private rideshare services but keeps the fare accessible like traditional public transit. The service allows users to simply book a ride using the GoGastonia app or by calling a dedicated number, all while benefiting from the intelligent system that groups passengers traveling in the same direction into one shared vehicle. The fares are wallet-friendly too, at $2.00 for a one-way trip, and discounted rates for the elderly, disabled, and free rides for small kids accompanied by adults.
GoGastonia operates Monday through Friday, from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and has slightly limited hours on Saturdays. The service, however, will not operate on most federal holidays while maintaining an operational schedule on days like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Residents and visitors who are interested to understand just how the GoGastonia rideshare service will work in practice can visit the city's official website for more detailed information.
