OmniRide to ask for extension of paratransit study

This past winter, OmniRide was in the middle of a year-long transit study to find out if people would call for a ride and then be taken to an OmniRide local bus stop.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and ridership across all OmniRide bus services plummeted. OmniRide officials are expected to ask for an extension of the study period at the next OmniRide Commissioners meeting, to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 3, at the OmniRide transit center at 14700 Potomac Mills Circle in Woodbridge.

Initially, the study was supposed to end in September.

OmniRide states:

OmniRide introduced a separate paratransit service in the Manassas and Manassas Park areas this [past] winter as part of a one-year pilot project. Paratransit vehicles pick up and drop off passengers within 3/4 mile of the regular western OmniRide Local bus route, the same distance that’s now in place for off-route trips as required by the federal law.

Since the paratransit service began, Manassas and Manassas Park OmniRide Local buses no longer make off-route trips. Eliminating off-route trips improves on-time performance for OmniRide Local buses, because the routing will not vary and extra time won’t be built into the schedule to accommodate off-route trips.

OmniRide planned on analyzing the new local fixed routing and paratransit service this fall.  Changes to the fixed-route services may occur this winter. If the pilot project is a success, OmniRide Access may be extended to serve residents in eastern Prince William County as early as 2022.

For those who live in western Prince William County and want to use the service, users must register on the OmniRide website. The transit agency tells us:

Eligible passengers will receive a paratransit OmniRide Access ID card once they complete the eligibility process.  Paratransit rides must be scheduled in advance once the passengers receives their ID card. OmniRide Access accepts trip reservations for the next service day and no more than 14 days before the time of the trip. OmniRide Access does not accept same-day trip reservations.

Historically, paratransit uses vehicles that are smaller than buses and is meant to provide greater access to public transit services for the elderly and disabled. In Washington, D.C., Metro has offered paratransit service for years, but traditional paratransit they’ve never been offered in Prince William County.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, local bus riders in Prince William County could call OmniRide and schedule a “deviation,” where the bus would travel up to three-quarters of a mile from the regular bus route, generally to someone’s house, to pick up and drop off.

Earlier this year, OmniRide told us that if the system does implement paratransit services permanently, it could cost at least a half-million per year to operate.

Thursday’s meeting can also be viewed online.