Via Grand Prairie reports ridership growth, outlines safety and driver-training steps

Via Grand Prairie representatives gave a year-three update to the Grand Prairie City Council, saying the on‑demand shared-ride service has seen steady ridership growth, tightened safety measures and new community engagement efforts.

City transit coordinator Sheila (no last name provided) introduced Leah, Via’s central region operations lead, who said the service has run seven days a week across Grand Prairie since early 2022 and now counts about 30,000 "active riders" (people who took a ride in the past three months). Via reported roughly 380,000 rides completed since the service began and said it is on track to complete about 150,000 rides in the current year.

Leah said productivity has improved from about 3 riders per vehicle-hour in year one to 3.5 this year, and Via is targeting further efficiency gains. She attributed ridership to serving a need among lower-income residents: Via presented survey figures that 62% of riders reported household incomes under $50,000 and roughly 75% do not have access to a personal vehicle. Council discussion and Via comments…