The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved an agreement that will transfer the city’s microtransit rideshare program to the local transit authority.

“Having a consolidated system for both fixed routes and microtransit is really going to help alleviate a problem for some of our riders,” Councilor Darrell O’Quinn said. “Public transportation is a lifeline for a lot of people in Birmingham. Public surveys have consistently shown us that public transportation is the number one thing people want to see the city invest in. We’re committed to that, and we’re committed to building out a more inclusive system that works for everyone despite the challenges we face in the state of Alabama in terms of public funding from the state.”

The city started offering microtransit rideshare services in 2019. Throughout that time, Birmingham leaders have contracted with Via Transportation Inc. for the work.

The council’s vote Tuesday transfers the services as well as $2.5 million in funding to the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority.

Christina Argo, deputy director for strategic projects at the city’s Department of Transportation, told the council that the transfer will help the authority better coordinate Birmingham On-Demand rides with its traditional fixed-route bus services. She added that it will allow the on-demand service to qualify for federal reimbursements — something that wouldn’t be possible if the city continued to oversee the program.

“The city is not a transit agency, so we do not qualify for those federal matching dollars for every ride,” Argo said.

The agreement states that the microtransit coverage area, 26.6 square miles, will stay the same, although locations may change. The operating hours of Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. will also stay the same.

Councilor Hunter Williams said he remembered the city initially taking the helm of the microtransit service because city leaders didn’t have faith in the BJCTA.

“What has changed?” he asked.

Mayor Randall Woodfin said that was true at the time, but there have been a number of positive changes at the authority in the past six years. Those include new board members, better funding and a new executive as well as better communication and transparency with the city, he said.

“There’s been not only enough time but enough trust built to get it to the organization that honestly should be leading it,” Woodfin said.

Williams said many people in the community are frustrated with the lack of drop-off locations the microtransit service offers in the northern part of the coverage area.

“My hope is — since we’re paying for it — that we can get connectivity to somewhere other than just Central Station” he said.

The council passed the transfer measure unanimously. The members also approved a $100,000 contribution to go toward a comprehensive transportation capital investment plan for the city.

The total cost of the project will be $1 million. However, federal grants will pay for $800,000, with the remaining $100,000 coming from the BJCTA.

Argo said the plan will help identify priority transportation corridors as well as policies that will help optimize the transportation services in the city.

The plan will include a public engagement period. Argo said the city has already hired a consulting team for the project, which includes transit planners and marketing professionals.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a contract with the Penny Foundation to implement the Common Ground Habilitation Empowerment and Accountability Therapy curriculum in Birmingham schools. This program, which is housed under Municipal Court, gives students facing socioeconomic issues access to lessons in anger management and conflict resolution. The pilot was launched in 2022 at Carver High School. In 2023, the program expanded to more than 300 students. According to city officials, the number of fights went down 88%, suspensions went down 86%, disciplinary actions with students went down 76% and absences went down 75%. The following year, the program expanded to 628 students and showed similar results. There are now 150 mentors and coaches in the schools who are involved, and roughly 1,100 students this semester enrolled in the program.
• Approved spending $1 million to provide a fourth year of a financial literacy curriculum across all grade levels at the Birmingham City Schools. The program, which has grown to be in 27 schools, is offered by IMC Financial Consulting. According to city staff, the courses teach students the importance of managing finances and credit scores and building wealth.