OmniRide to purchase four vans for Manassas-area micro transit service

The future of local bus service in some areas of Manassas and Manassas Park won’t be riding on a bus.

OmniRide will purchase four minivans to operate the micro-transit service in Manassas and Manassas Park. OmniRide will use vans to provide a “flexible” transit service similar to Lyft or Uber that will allow riders to book a ride through their phone or by calling OmniRide’s Customer Service office.

The four vans will be wheelchair accessible, costing nearly a quarter million dollars for all four. It will allow OmniRide to expand its micro-transit service to other nearby areas if the program is successful.

“While all four minivans may not be used immediately, ordering these while the inventory is available avoids long delays with future purchases and allows for expansion of flexible services sooner,” OmniRide documents state. “These vehicles would be received well before the December launch date to allow for training, branding, and installation of necessary technology equipment.”

The vehicles can transport one wheelchair passenger at a time and have a seating capacity of up to six passengers. Safety features, such as a camera surveillance system, a camera to assist the operator with backing, and various exterior lighting features, will be included.

The vans will begin rolling in December. The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, which governs OmniRide, will vote on the purchase at tonight’s 7 o’clock meeting at 14700 Potomac Mills Road in Woodbridge.

What’s old is new again. Local buses, once known in Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park as OmniLink, used to offer “deviations” where riders could call ahead and schedule a pickup or drop off as long as the stop was no more than three-quarters of a mile from the regular bus route.

OmniRide will end its local bus 68 service in Manassas Park on December 12, 2022, in favor of micro transit. According to the transit agency, residential areas make up most of the route, which lacks points of interest that would generate more ridership. With the lowest ridership of all routes, the 68 buses carried about three passengers per hour in October 2021.