PHILADELPHIA PA – If you’re disabled or elderly, and depend on Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) paratransit services (known as “CCT Connect”) to get from place to place, booking a ride may now be faster, easier, and more reliable.
SEPTA and California-based transportation software provider RideCo Inc. said Thursday (Feb. 22, 2024) they launched a new mobile phone service called SEPTA OnDemand. The transportation system said mobile phone use is creating “a better experience” for paratransit riders while also improving operations and cutting costs.
The RideCo upgrades took effect Jan. 28 in Montgomery County, and Feb. 11 in Chester County, SEPTA reported.
According to SEPTA’s webpage, the software relies on riders’ mobile phones to:
- Send two notices to confirm a transit pick-up. The first is an “automated call the night before” scheduled service. The second is a “call on the day of service,” 15 minutes before pick-up. Both are available either as voice phone or text messages; and
- Promise pick-up “at or within 30 minutes after their scheduled time.”
The online platform helps “simplify the certification process for riders,” RideCo reported. It also makes use of the plastic SEPTA Key card to solve fare issues, and enhances reservation and dispatching abilities to ensure paratransit vehicles run on time, it added.
SEPTA is the fifth-largest transit system in the U.S. It currently operates a paratransit fleet of 411 vehicles, and plans to add a 48-vehicle micro-transit fleet later this year.
Photo from the Federal Transit Administration, used by Travels With The Post
Band ‘Big Time Rush’ Joins Headliners’ List at Musikfest