Spokane Transit Authority is looking into partnerships with ride-sharing services, such as Uber. 

Steve Blaska, STA’s director of operations, says the organization’s staff met with Uber’s regional operations manager, Jonathan Hopkins, in October to talk about such partnerships. 

“The purpose of the meeting was to continue to explore developments and opportunities for creative partnerships,” says Blaska. “STA is monitoring experiments that are taking place in our industry. Our objective is to keep pace with information on which of these efforts are experiencing success.”

Brandon Rapez-Betty, STA spokesman, says an example of a potential partnership would give Uber drivers an added payment incentive to pick up individuals outside of normal bus routes and transport them to a nearby bus stop. 

“Like other emerging trends, we are monitoring what Uber and other transit agencies are doing to understand how it could work here in our region,” he says.

He says such a partnership potentially could be useful for people whose commutes fall outside of normal bus hours, as well as for paratransit customers. 

While there isn’t yet a program being considered for the Spokane area, Blaska says Hopkins outlined other such initiatives beginning in Washington, including some initial work that Uber is doing with Pierce Transit in Tacoma.

He says most of those efforts are in the early stages and some already are uncovering issues that will need to be worked through. 

Those include concerns over properly accommodating disabled and elderly riders, providing neighborhoods with equal access to the service, cost sharing, auditable billing and fare payment, and contracting mechanisms.

Blaska says the meeting with Hopkins was one element of STA’s research into such programs.

“STA does not have a specific pilot program envisioned at this time,” says Blaska. “But we are actively watching to see which of the initiatives across the country prove to be productive and cost effective and may be worthy of replicating here in our region.”