640 square miles. We transport over 400 passengers daily using about 25 vehicles. We travel all over Union County, we go into Charlotte for medical and VA (Veterans Affairs) appointments, and to Salisbury for VA appointments.” The transit agency is a demand-response system and does not operate fixed routes. Instead, rides are scheduled as needed, and passengers are provided with curb-to-curb service, with door-todoor assistance as needed. “The fleet consists of minivans, transit vehicles, and 20 and 22 foot LTVs equipped with wheelchair accessibility,” Torres describes.“Our passengers call us 48 business hours in advance for appointments.” TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES DESIGNED FOR RIDERS Union County Transportation has recently upgraded to a new software platform, making its services more efficient and convenient.“This upgrade incorporates the latest technology, enabling our schedulers to spend less time manually assigning trips to vehicles,” outlines Torres. “While some hands-on scheduling is still required, the new system has significantly reduced the workload.” The plan is to eventually offer same day booking, and a customer portal will also be introduced, allowing riders to book online, view upcoming rides, cancel trips, and track arrival times. Torres relays, “We think this will be better for our clients. We want the process to be easy and accessible so they can schedule appointments when it’s convenient for them.” Explaining that the prior system sometimes took five hours to finish scheduling, she adds, “Our goal for the new system is to handle roughly 98% of the scheduling automatically, and we’re actively working toward that. Our passengers have always understood our scheduling process and have never had difficulties with it. This change is driven by our desire to operate more efficiently.” Passenger Judy Kinlaw praises the current system, noting, “Being able to call ahead of time and schedule out a month of appointments was quite easy to do. I got a confirmation call back to make 161 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 12 UNION COUNTY TRANSPORTATION
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