B.U.I.L.D to present microtransit pilot initiative at council session on Tuesday

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — For many getting to and from work is an everyday challenge, for others getting to the grocery store or to medical appointments can present itself as an issue.

Right now, Lextran offers the paratransit service called WHEELS but some do not have the ability to schedule their ride 24 hours in advance.

On Tuesday, members of Building a United Interfaith Lexington through Direct-Action and community partners will present the microtransit pilot initiative.

“Micro transit services are on demand, typically door to door services for people who don’t have other types of transportation to use,”  says Gail Swanson, a past co-chair of BUILD.

Microtransit is like a mini-bus that is available anywhere and comes at any time you need.

Those who use WHEELS, “to qualify, you have to qualified ride on WHEELS, okay, you don’t have to qualify to use this particular transportation system. It’s kind of like Lyft, or Uber or a taxi,” adds Swanson.

She also says, “we’ve heard about people being fired because their transportation, got them to work late, pretty consistently, and that they weren’t able to find an alternative to that particular transportation service.”

How it works will heavily depend on how the city and lextran move forward, but for those with BUILD,  the well being of others is one of the main focuses.

“If you have serious medical problems and you can’t get to the doctor when you’re supposed to, that’s a problem,” says Swanson.

The meeting is Tuesday at 1pm, at the council chambers.