The Limits of Microtransit

Microtransit involves running on-demand services with smaller vehicles that people can summon without walking to a fixed location like a bus stop. This brief argues that microtransit is incapable of serving the same scale of ridership as fixed-route buses and trains. Microtransit is more expensive to run than fixed routes, and money spent on microtransit would benefit more people if spent on fixed-route service or improving pedestrian access to stops and stations. While microtransit cannot replace bus service, it can serve other roles, such as paratransit services.