WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - In the three-and-a-half-hour City Council meeting of November 15, a big portion of that was taken up by a very detailed and complete report regarding the on-demand ride share – commonly known as Via. The following information was included in the report: The rideshare service is considered a corner-to-corner service. The fleet includes 11 Hybrid Toyota Siennas, including 3 WAV. Via has tracked the number of calls, discovering there are peak hours and higher demand consistently at certain times. The number of available vehicles depends on that scheduling.

General hours of operation are Monday to Friday 6 am – 11 pm, Saturday 9 am – 11 pm and Sunday 8 am – 8 pm.

Fares are $3.50 single ride, plus $1.00 for additional passengers. They have a weekly pass that allows 4 rides per day for seven days, for $15. 50 discounted fares for eligible riders.

Councilwoman Verna Sculpizio-Hull requested the development of a program that will offer extended hours during specific or special events like High School football games. She explained that many families take Via to see the game but when the game is over, Via has already shut down for the night.

The average daily number of rides is 517. Average weekly is 3,621. The total number of senior and disabled riders through the fiscal year of 2023 (FY 23) is more than 15,000. Total rides in FY 23 is 188,848 and total rides to date are 728,871.

Mayor Guerrero mentioned that Via is one of the main modes of transportation in West Sacramento. She mentioned the city’s Mobility Action Plan (getting people out of their cars and using other modes of transportation within the city). Mayor Guerrero expressed the desire for the rideshare company to be much more aggressively active on advertising and for them to perhaps work out some programs that regularly include rides for churches, schools, new apartment areas, home run, seniors, YCCA, homeless programs, job development places and the senior center. The Council also suggested that rideshare work it out with emergency services or city staff for rideshare to be involved during emergencies (like rides to warming and cooling centers).

The report also included financial payout and income, funding past and current, available partnerships and costs, survey assessment and public feedback. For complete details on these items visit cityofwestsacramento.org and go to meetings to find video of the meeting and meeting minutes.

Once the presentation of the report was completed the City Council held discussion with the transportation representative. Questions and concerns included: Are employees adequately paid? The Mayor wants to see feedback from the employees.

The Council also brought up Via’s safety practices. They asked if rideshare has been getting into accidents? Do they get accident reports and what is their standard procedure when this happens? Who is responsible and who has to deal with it? The company or the employee. These answers need to be investigated by city staff because the drivers are considered subcontractors, yet they get paid by the hour.

Transportation says that they get on average, one incident every two weeks. That is since summer of this year. They weren’t keeping track of that data before then. The council requested a complete report on safety data. Transportation also said that if anyone is having trouble loading or using the Via app, they can go into City Hall, and someone from Transportation will help them with the app. They prefer to be called at (916) 617-4645 to make an appointment, although it is not necessary.