Simplified: Sioux Area Metro saw a 23% increase in ridership over the last year, according to data from Via, the company contracted by the city to run public transit services.

Why it matters

  • Via took over the city's public transit system in January 2024, and last fall added a new on-demand ride option in August as well as an overhaul of the city's fixed routes later in the fall.
  • It took a few months for folks to adjust to the changes, according to Via Director of Operations Emily Shapiro, but by April of this year, ridership had surpassed 8,000 rides per month on on-demand alone. Plus, there's been a 9% increase in fixed-route ridership.
  • The combination of on-demand and fixed routes has helped the overall transit system to be more efficient. Shapiro said one exciting point in all of this is that the system is now serving 100% of the city, but the cost per ride remained net neutral.
"Previously you had this bus system that only accessed (less than half) of the population," Shapiro said. "But now 100% of Sioux fall residents can access public transit for the same cost per ride."

Tell me more

Another change under Via's leadership is an increased frequency on several fixed routes.

  • Most routes have buses coming at 30-minute intervals during peak times, Shapiro said, and with buses coming more often, they're serving more people.

Sioux Area Metro is also relying on data to make tweaks to the system when needed.

  • For example, earlier this year the city saw a high demand for on-demand rides very early in the morning – so much so, that they realized they could just run the big buses earlier to serve those riders.
  • Now, the purple, red, orange and green lines all start at 6 a.m. instead of 6:30 a.m.
"What we’ve seen is, we’ve been able to better serve those riders with the bus and reserve on-demand capacity in the morning," Shapiro said.

What happens next?

Throughout the summer, Sioux Area Metro is offering free rides on Fridays for fixed routes and paratransit services.

"On demand is hugely popular, and we know riders have discovered that," Shapiro said. "But the bus is now incredibly efficient. You can get downtown on any bus line in less than 20 minutes."