AL: Mobile public transit system faces 5-year $60 million overhaul: What to know

Mobile city officials are poised to make a major change to how it operates its public transit system for the next five years.

The council will likely vote next Tuesday, September 16, on an agreement with New York-based Via Transit LLC that would cost approximately $12.1 million per year for five years. Of that, approximately $8 million would be paid by the city with an additional $4.1 million from federal government resources.

The agreement could lead to an eventual end to the Wave Transit bus system in 2026, in favor of a more modern, on-demand and app-based transit system featuring a bus service with reorganized fixed routes.

The full extent and scope of the new system will not be known until after Via has approximately nine months to review and analyze the system. In addition, public meetings would be required over the initial months of Via’s contract.

“The effort will be to build a new system that works,” said Scott Collins, the executive director of finance for the city who has overseen the likely change in transit services.

The move comes after years of complaints from city leaders over the operation of a system under Wave that was criticized as being inefficient. The buses that ride through Mobile often have low ridership, and city leaders have said they no longer want that to continue.

“This is a big decision,” Collins said. “It will be a 180-degree turn from what we have today.”

Length of contract

The biggest debate over the contract, during the council’s Public Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, was over the number of years for which it will last.

Under the original contractual terms, the agreement would last for five years with an additional five years to be negotiated and approved by the council.

Some council members urged the contract’s term be changed to a three-year agreement, with two 1-year terms that will be negotiated and approved by the council.

“It’s a major decision for the City of Mobile,” said Councilman Cory Penn, who advocated for the contractual changes for a shortened initial contract length. “To move forward with just anything, we have to make sure it’s right.”

Via Transit had wanted a revised contract that included an initial three years followed by a four-year agreement that would be approved by the council. After the first seven years were completed, the council would then vote on a subsequent three-year contract.

Via wanted a longer contract because it intended to spend the first nine months examining the existing public transit system and determining what kind of vehicles and services will be needed in the years to come, Collins said.

“They think that in the nine months, there will be no changes (to the existing transit service),” Collins said.

The terms were then verbally changed to the three-year agreement, with subsequent one-year approvals during the committee meeting. Via representatives were in the audience and voiced their support for the changes to Collins.

Tight timing

The timing is an issue. The existing contract to operate Mobile’s Wave Transit bus system expires on Sept. 30. Without a new agreement in place, the city runs the risk of no longer having a public transit operation.

Councilman Josh Woods, who chairs the committee, said he did not want to delay the approval with Via beyond next week’s meeting. He said it’s risky to push the contract’s approval toward the end of September, knowing that the existing contract to operate the Wave Transit System would no longer be in place next month.

The council, in June, voted on a 90-day extension with the Wave’s current operator, Transdev. The extension expires on Sept. 30.

“I firmly believe, based on the proposal I’ve studied and the contract we have in front of us, that this is the best option for transit for the City of Mobile,” Woods said. He said he applauded Via’s work in other cities by increasing ridership through offering micro-transit options on smaller buses than the current Wave system.

In addition, Woods said that Via has agreed to work with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 770 – the labor union that represents Mobile’s public transit workers.

Collins said that Via is already meeting with Transdev employees to transfer their employment and offer them new jobs. That includes decisions over whether to carry forward health insurance and other benefit packages, or to pay out existing balances to the employees before the end of the month.

“They are moving forward with that,” Collins said. “Part of (Via’s) challenge is that those employees would need to be employees of a new company by October 1. There is a (short) window of time to transition that.”

Via Operations

Via already has experience in Mobile. The company has operated the MoGo Rideshare offered through the Mobile Chamber for city residents. The program provides a $1.25 ride throughout the southeastern part of the city that includes downtown Mobile and the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, which is home to Airbus’ North American manufacturing headquarters.

The company also handles micro-transit and rideshare services for the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA). The company also handles the paratransit services for individuals with disabilities and micro-transit services in Baton Rouge, La.

However, in Mobile, the company would oversee the entire operations of public transportation. The company took over a similar service in Sioux Falls, S.D., with the operation of Sioux Area Metro (SAM) in early 2024.

The new program included new bus routes, citywide on-demand service, and commingled paratransit into a unified system aimed at boosting connectivity for residents.

Riders in Sioux Falls are able to book a ride through the “SAM Transit” app by downloading the app in either the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Some council members worry about a lack of technology-savvy riders in Mobile, a city that rivals Sioux Falls in population with around 200,000 residents.

“The digital aspects of this look like a great change,” said Councilman Ben Reynolds. “But how would it work for people who are not tech savvy?”

Collins said the system will also include a non-digital component that will allow people to call Via Transit for their service needs.

“There will be traditional ways to pay whether it’s cash or debit,” Collins said.

Mayoral race

The contract’s approval also comes ahead of a changeover in mayoral administrations starting on Nov. 3. Current Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson is retiring on Nov. 3, and he will be replaced by the winner of the Sept. 23 runoff between former Mobile County District Judge Spiro Cheriogotis and state Rep. Barbara Drummond.

Drummond, last week, urged the city not to approve the 5-year agreement, while Cheriogotis said he trusted Stimpson’s administration and the council to make the right decision.

Woods, last week, said there will be flexibility in the contract to accommodate the wishes of whoever is elected mayor.

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