Macon Transit to test new ‘ride on demand’ program

The Macon Transit Authority will roll out its rides on demand microtransit pilot program next week, which is aimed at providing commuters with a cheaper rideshare option for getting around Macon.

Rapid Transit will offer rides to a select group of volunteers beginning July 7 and will continue to do so until October. While the MTA already offers paratransit services, or transportation for individuals with disabilities, the Rapid Transit Program will eventually be open to everyone.

Through the MTA’s Rapid Transit Program, riders will be able to request one of the MTA’s five electric vans and within fifteen minutes get picked up for a ride to any destination within the program’s area.

The program can take riders anywhere between Shirley Hills, Pio Nono Avenue, Gray Highway and Mercer University Drive. Because of the program’s proximity to Mercer University, the authority plans on working with the school to attract volunteer commuters, MTA officials said.

Pickups are available from 7 a.m. to just before midnight, and rides will cost $5 during the day and $8 after 6 p.m.

MTA board member Rachel Umana said the new program is “incredible,” and can take people the extra one or two miles not covered by public transportation.

Mark Strozier, transit planner for MTA, said the program “still has a long way to go” between integrating dispatchers into a new system and developing a payment system in the project’s second phase after the initial closed beta.

The authority received federal funding for the microtransit program, Strozier said.

Strozier, who has been working on the program since early 2024, said the program could possibly be expanded to include a larger area once they collect data from the first phase.

“Microtransit gives us the ability to serve a greater area without incurring the additional significant investment that fixed route and paratransit cost,” Strozier said.