In 2020, as ridership declined drastically, Via experienced swift and sometimes severe changes. The mobility concerns of older adults and people with disabilities shifted from traveling to community resources such as senior centers and the beauty parlor to acquiring vital resources like groceries during a time of social distancing and isolation. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic progressed, Via quickly adapted to meet our community’s changing needs. Instead of moving people, we focused on delivering groceries and prescriptions to our riders. We even formed new partnerships to expand our reach. In collaboration with the Boulder County Farmer’s Market, we began delivering locally sourced produce to families participating in the WIC program.

One family shared their gratitude for the service, “It has changed everything. Having an immune-compromised husband means that we can’t go into public areas. Delivery options for healthy food can be expensive, and having this delivery (as well as buying affordable produce from our neighbor) has allowed us to make our food budget stretch.”

A new mother participating in the program was given peace of mind because of these deliveries. “This program has been truly amazing during Covid as a single mom with two infant twins and it allowed me to get fresh produce in a manner that felt incredibly safe. I have had to be particularly careful given that I am the only person that’s able to take care of my children.”

The shifts we’ve experienced over the past year have been challenging but this experience has opened the door to new partnerships that we might not have considered otherwise. We’re excited to continue these partnerships in 2021 and beyond.

Greenlink completed its 2020-2024 Transit Development Plan in 2018. The Transit Development Plan (TDP) outlined five phases of improvements to Greenlink’s existing core network. The first phase of the TDP prioritized Greenlink’s expansion of its weekday service schedule. In 2018, Greenlink operated Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The TDP recommended that Greenlink extend its weekday schedule to service the entire span of 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.–adding four more hours of service to each day. This phase of improvement went into effect January 4, 2021.

The second phase of the TDP outlined that Greenlink should extend its Saturday schedule to mirror the weekday span. In 2018, Greenlink operated its fixed route and paratransit network from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The TDP recommended that Greenlink extend its Saturday schedule to run services from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.–adding eight more hours of service to Saturday’s schedule and mirroring the weekday span. This improvement is scheduled to go live the first half of 2021.

Customers were ecstatic when we rolled out the first phase of extended hours. We heard from a Greenlink passenger who was able to go grocery shopping after work for the first time without having to worry about missing the last bus. Another was able to have a nice meal in downtown Greenville after getting off a long shift. One was able to pick up more hours at work to earn more income for their family, while another customer was able to eliminate booking a costly rideshare to get home. We’re excited about what the full network’s service extension–operating until 11:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday–will mean for even more customers.

Following the Town of Winter Park’s Council passing Resolution 1814 “A Resolution Affirming Town Plans to Electrify the Public Transit Fleet,” town staff began preparing The Lift’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Transition Plan to demonstrate preparedness for implementing electric vehicles into the fleet. Testing Proterra’s ZX5+ Duo Power took place January 29, 2021 on The Lift’s year-round black line route. Representatives from the Town of Winter Park, the Town of Fraser, Winter Park Resort, Winter Park and Fraser Chamber of Commerce and many others were invited to ride along to compare the differences between our current 22-year-old fleet and the new Proterra Electric Vehicle.

As the electric bus was driven around town, many members of the community emailed and inquired on social media about the performance testing and riding the bus. After posting a short time-lapse of the electric bus being unloaded, the video received 413 views in the first 24 hours garnering 93 likes, 8 comments, 3 shares and 2 saves. 

Some of these comments included:

“What line/schedule can we find this bus on for those who want to ride?” 

“We saw it driving around today! So cool!”

“Fantastic!” 

“Look at this fancy electric mountain bus!” 

Testing the electric vehicle performance in our rural community creates great opportunities to interact with riders in person and virtually. The excitement and interest in The Lift’s system anticipated transition to electric vehicles has been a bright spot in what has been a really challenging year for our community. We value genuine interactions like these from our riders and partners in advancing the system forward toward its greatest and fullest potential!

Let’s keep moving, progressing, taking small steps to achieve big milestones! Each one of us has the power to make a tremendous impact. Thanks for all you and your systems do! You’re the pulse of every thriving community.