Plano residents will now have access to the city’s latest transportation service, Via.
The gist
Via will provide an initial six-month transportation service to operate within city limits and up to a 1.5-mile buffer past city boundaries according to city documents. One Via program will be for residents 65 and older, while the second program will have fixed routes in key districts within Legacy West.
Curtis Howard, Plano’s Director of Neighborhood Services, said the transportation service will have a 30-day fare-free period after its launch. Pricing afterwards will change depending on distance, the time of day and the current passenger count with the base fare price at $3 per ride.
The details
The 65+ program will launch May 4 and go from curb to curb with operating hours from 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m., seven days a week, Howard said. The Legacy West program will have two routes circulating between The Shops at Legacy, Legacy West and the corporate campuses in the area.
“Our economic development folks are working with those corporate campuses as we try and figure out the best routes and pick up locations and times for that circulating route,” Howard said.
A start date for the Legacy West program has not been determined yet. Both programs could be renewed for an additional six months and another 12-month extension afterward.
Zooming in
Talks about Plano’s Via programs started after an initial announcement for Plano voters to decide if the city should withdraw from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system, per previous reporting.
The city tabled a contract with Via at a meeting Feb. 9 and canceled the special election to withdraw from DART Feb. 23.
“We still have DART here in the city of Plano and we’re providing a supplemental service to DART, “ Howard said. “[Via will] provide transportation needs in areas that DART does not cover.”
