Tag: Transit
New Bike- and Scooter-Sharing Service OK’d for Birmingham
A new micromobility service has been approved to operate in Birmingham despite open doubt from city councilors that such businesses are worth the trouble. Councilors approved allowing the Lime bike- and scooter-sharing business to operate in the Magic City, although some councilors suggested tightening city ordinances to make sure e-bikes and e-scooters don’t become a public nuisance, particularly if customers leave them randomly on sidewalks and streets rather than returning them. Read more.
Birmingham Councilors Allege Promises Broken but City Still Renews Via Contract
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to renew its contract with the ridesharing service Via, despite frustration from some councilors that promises of expanding the program had not been kept.
Under the contract, the city will pay Via up to $2.64 million per year to provide transit services in the city for a term “not to exceed three years.” Every 12 months, the council will have the option to continue funding or to cancel the partnership.
Even so, some councilors expressed anger that they were being asked to recommit to an organization that had not fulfilled its promises to expand its services, despite previous increases in city funding ostensibly for that purpose. Read more.
Birmingham’s New Xpress Rapid Bus Line Gives Residents a New Option to Travel Across the City
The Birmingham Xpress is a single route that runs east to west between Five Points West and Woodlawn. A total of 32 stops take riders by places such as Princeton Baptist Hospital, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Railroad Park and Sloss Furnace. Read more.
Birmingham Council OKs Extra Funds for Bus Rapid Transit System
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve using $18 million in American Rescue Plan funds to cover unexpected extra costs in construction of the city’s Bus Rapid Transit system.
The BRT project, which will create a 10-mile, higher-speed public transit corridor through 25 neighborhoods, broke ground in December. But last week, Charlotte Shaw, the city’s deputy director of capital projects, told councilors that the project had run into rising costs in the construction industry — a “perfect storm” resulting from COVID-19’s strain on the market. Even with significant cuts, she said, the city would need at least $14 million more to complete the BRT, which originally had been budgeted for $45.8 million. Read more.
Birmingham Council Set to Fund Rapid Transit Project Next Week
The Birmingham City Council is set to allocate $18 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan funding toward the construction of the city’s Bus Rapid Transit system. The project, which will create a 10-mile, higher-speed public transit corridor through 25 neighborhoods, broke ground in December. But rising construction costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic had placed significant strain on the project. Read more.
Bus Rapid Transit Line Coming to Birmingham
A new, faster bus line is on its way to the city of Birmingham. The Birmingham Xpress will run roughly 10 miles from Five Points West, through downtown Birmingham, to Woodlawn, connecting 25 city neighborhoods. Read more.
Birmingham Launching Pilot Ridesharing Service
Starting in December, residents of some Birmingham neighborhoods will have a new transit option. The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve a six-month transportation pilot program with ridesharing company Via, funded in part by the city and in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
The program will provide on-demand transportation using marked Mercedes Metris vans, which can be summoned online, through an 800 number or on a smartphone app. Each trip will have a flat fee of $1.50 per rider; the vans can accommodate six riders at one. The pilot program will cover a 6.7-mile area that includes parts of downtown Birmingham, along with western neighborhoods such as Smithfield, Graymont and College Hills. Read more.
