The Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) for the city of Miami is suspending overnight Metrobus service on Miami-Dade Transit and has partnered with Uber and Lyft on a new Go Nightly on-demand ride option.
Metrobus service will end at midnight starting on April 10 and no overnight service will occur until further notice. To provide essential workers trips during this service suspension, Go Nightly has been established to operate between midnight and 5 a.m. starting on April 8.
DTPW says the decision to launch Go Nightly came following drastic ridership decline associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the department notes partnering with Uber and Lyft on the new program allows for essential service to continue.
Go Nightly service can be booked through the Uber or Lyft app or by phone and accommodations for wheelchair users can be made. Riders are good within a quarter mile of bus routes 3, 11, 27, 38, 77, 112/L, 119/S, 246 and 500. Miami-Dade Transit explains that while fares and late night service are suspended on its system, fares for rides with the Go Nightly program will also be suspended.
David Reich, head of Uber Transit, wrote in a March 30 blog that Uber Transit is prepared to help transit agencies impacted by COVID-19 to “utilize our technology and rideshare network to get people where they need to go.” Reich writes that Uber Transit can have customized programs up and running for transit clients in as little as 48 hours.
Lyft has also made its company resources available and recently launched the LyftUp Scooter Critical Workforce Program, which provides free scooter trips to frontline workers (healthcare, first-responder and transit) six U.S. cities.
