STOCKTON, Calif. — Citing low ridership and high operations costs, transit officials in San Joaquin County are cutting an innovative bus service in the city of Stockton.
In 2019, RTD first unveiled its "Van Go!" service, which operates like Uber or Lyft.
"You can have an app, you can reserve your trip using that app and as long as there is availability and within the hours of service, you could have a trip," said RTD's Planning and Service Development Director Damaris Galvan.
Stockton resident Jennifer Millonita rides RTD buses every day but only experimented once with "Van Go!".
"Me and my friends didn't want to wait for the bus and we were like up north," Milonita said. "I prefer the normal routes, because it's much easier."
Gregory Craft, who also lives in Stockton, was catching an RTD bus to get to a doctor's appointment on Thursday. Instead of using "Van Go!", he opted for a regular route this time.
"I enjoyed it," said Craft of the now-outgoing service. "It helped me; it was beneficial for me."
Despite its benefits for some, RTD officials said it was bad news for the transit district's budget.
"RTD staff performed a very in-depth analysis and evaluation and found out that 'Van Go!' has the least number of passengers and the highest operating cost within all RTD services," Galvan said. "To put it in perspective, operating a fixed-route service — the local routes we have within the city of Stockton — costs $13 per passenger compared to $105 that costs to operate Van go!."
Officials said the service will be discontinued in Stockton on Sept. 1. Some rides outside of Stockton city limits will still be offered through "Van Go!".
"What we are looking for and planning in the future: re-allocating those resources to be used in fixed routes with a focus on underserved neighborhoods," Galvan said. "RTD has worked really hard to enhance and improve the local service within the city of Stockton. We have other services like Metro Hopper, County Hopper and commuter services."
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