Northeastern University, based in Boston, Mass., has partnered with Via to launch a revamped version of the university’s late-night student transport service called RedEye.
RedEye is a dynamically-routed transit network that ensures students a safe ride home from the campus library. RedEye operates within a two-mile radius of Northeastern University’s Snell Library, allowing students who live off-campus a safe and completely free ride home during nightly study sessions. Managed by the Northeastern University Police Department, students using the RedEye app can request a ride every night from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m.
“We are delighted to partner with Northeastern University to bring a new level of convenience and efficiency to the RedEye Safety Escort,” said Daniel Ramot, co-founder and CEO of Via. “Students shouldn’t have to think twice about getting around campus safely. Via’s mobility solutions will provide students with a smart, efficient and sustainable campus transportation solution.”
Riders can download the RedEye app (iOS and Android) to hail the safety escort van directly from their smartphone. Via’s algorithms will enable multiple riders to seamlessly share the vehicle. The technology will direct passengers to the pickup point at Snell Quadrangle in front of Snell Library, allowing for quick and efficient shared trips without lengthy detours, or inconvenient fixed routes and schedules.
More than 3,300 students used the service for 45,000 rides in the 2018-2019 academic year. Northeastern Police Staff Sgt. John Farrell says he expects those numbers to rise this year now that the campus transitioned to Via’s technology from a previous provider. Students told Northeastern they looked forward to the improved RedEye service with Via, adding many riders would previously bypass the app and ask the driver to take them home, leading to inefficient routing.
Via has been tapped by cities and transportation players around the world to help re-engineer public transit from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via now has more than 80 launched and pending deployments in nearly 20 countries, providing more than 60 million rides to date.
