Trains, transit—and Uber

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has embarked on a three-month pilot program with technology provider TransLoc to integrate the state’s Amtrak train stations with public transit and Uber through TransLoc’s Rider app.

The partnership “is designed to get passengers to and from Amtrak train stations across the state in a snap,” NCDOT said. “State transit officials want to foster a transit ecosystem around trains like we often see at airports. We are the first state transit agency inking a transit tech partnership like this, to integrate Uber and public transit with the state’s passenger train system to enhance statewide mobility.”

NCDOT and Amtrak partner to operate the Piedmont and Carolinian trains in North Carolina. TransLoc’s Rider app will provide North Carolina passengers with “seamless, easy, door-to-door trip planning” to and from nine Amtrak stations throughout the state: Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Kannapolis and Charlotte. The project “will bring multimodal transit opportunities to more than five million residents across three major metropolitan areas.”

“Our partnership with TransLoc is helping us create a large network of interconnected public transit options,” said, NCDOT Rail Division Director Paul Worley. “By tying together services that residents use and depend on already, it’s now easier than ever for North Carolinians to travel across the state without driving their cars while taking advantage of existing rail infrastructure. As a result of [our] work with local public transit systems over the past five years, the Department has seen a 40% increase in ridership. Now riders not only have more options for getting to the train, but they can plan and coordinate an entire multi-leg trip at the touch of a few buttons.”

The Rider app works as follows: Passengers input their preferred train station into the Rider app. The app displays a route that integrates Uber and public transit with the train schedule, providing multimodal route options from the rider’s front door to the train station platform. For example, the app might provide a synchronized route to the train that incorporates walking, taking a bus or riding in an Uber. Passengers can also use the app to find transit options or an Uber at their destination. Over time, the app will learn user preferences around cost, convenience and mode of transportation to deliver a customized door-to-door plan..

“TransLoc’s partnership with NCDOT builds upon some of our deep existing relationships with North Carolina transit agencies and ties that work into an important statewide effort,” said TransLoc CEO Doug Kaufman. “This is an innovative step for a transit agency as large as the NCDOTand reinforces its leadership in working to solve the chronic first-mile, last-mile problem that has historically restricted public transit ridership. We look forward to working with NCDOT to meet the needs of residents and create thriving transportation ecosystems in communities across the state.”

NCDOT’s pilot program follows implementation of private and public transit trip planning with the TransLoc Rider app in Gainesville, Fla. That program helped the city integrate Uber with existing bus services to increase mobility options for seniors and safe rides home for students at the University of Florida.