Major metropolises such as New York, Boston or San Francisco operate 24 hour fixed-route public transportation to meet the transportation demands of hundreds of thousands of people. In small to medium-sized cities such as Ann Arbor, where economic feasibility rules out this possibility, creative solutions are required to meet the transportation needs of the public.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, is home of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, whose student population comprises approximately 33% of the city’s 114,024  population. Students nationwide are demonstrating a greater propensity towards socialization, and Ann Arbor’s student population is no exception: in 2003 the university ranked 13^th on the Princeton Review’s list of the nation’s “Top Party Schools.” What is exceptional about Ann Arbor is the way the city addresses the late-night transportation needs of this valuable customer base for the dining and entertainment establishments that line Main and State Streets in Downtown Ann Arbor.

The Ann Arbor Transit Authority (AATA) is the city’s public transportation agency that directly operates fixed-route bus service. In 1983, the ATAA responded with an innovative solution to a community need for safe, low-cost transportation late at night after fixed-route service had ended. They contracted with a private taxi company to provide subsidized shared-ride taxi service to the general public during late night hours, when conventional service is not in operation.

The service, called Night Ride, works quite simply. Customers call a local phone number and give the dispatcher this information: the pickup location, destination and number of passengers (including non-paying children.). They also inform the dispatcher if they are using a car seat or wheelchair. The service then operates much like regular taxi service, with a few important differences:

• There is a flat fee of $5.00 per person (children 5 and under ride free with paying adult) regardless of trip length.

• Night Ride cabs take 15-40 minutes to arrive to pick up passengers, with an average wait of 20 minutes.

•  It is a shared-ride service, so the cab may pick up and/or drop off passengers during the ride.

•  Passengers may only bring that which they can hold on their laps (except wheelchairs and walkers).

• There is reduced fare for holders of AATA-issued ADA or senior ID cards.

The AATA recommends that passengers allow for each Night Ride trip to take one hour, though the average duration of a trip is 45 minutes. After the successful implementation of Night Ride, the service proved to be so useful to the community that a similarly configured Holiday Ride service was introduced as well.

The ATAA contracts Night Ride service through one provider, who is selected through competitive bid procurement. Yellow Cab was the service provider for the early  years, but in 2003 the contract was awarded to Blue Cab which continues to service Night Ride.

Like any public program, funding is an issue.  In 1998 the AATA implemented a variety of measures intended to offset the decreasing share of state funding being awarded to the Authority and the rising costs of health care, fuel, and other operating expenses. In August of 2005 the ongoing need to balance their budget in the face of decreased state funding led the AATA to propose the discontinuation of Night Ride services after September 30, 2005. The Ann Arbor community responded with such an overwhelming demand for continued service that a fare increase to customers from $3.00-$5.00 per trip was approved to ensure Night Ride’s economic feasibility.

This innovative use of taxi service to augment late-night public transportation can be a model for the development of cohesive transportation options within hospitality zones (the districts within cities that have extended hours, concentrations of dining and entertainment businesses, and active street life). When public transportation ceases running, private automobiles often seem like the best option for transit. However,  low-cost, shared-ride taxi service presents intoxicated patrons of the hospitality and entertainment industry with a safe and affordable means of getting home at closing time, which enhances the desirability of visiting a hospitality zone. In a college town such as Ann Arbor, where 36.61% of the population is between the ages of 20 and 35 years old (US Census 2000), a service like Night Ride encourages responsibility in a demographic that is statistically likely to engage in regular imbibing. 

Furthermore, this service can help meet the transportation needs of other valuable members of the hospitality zone: the  hospitality workforce that  employs unconventional hours. Prep cooks, bartenders, doormen, cocktail waitresses, baristas, bakers, and managers of hospitality industry businesses all frequently arrive for or leave work very late at night or very early in the morning. Many of these workers use public transportation, and many could benefit from a safe and affordable means to get themselves home when public transportation systems are not running to full service, or even at all.

A 2002 study of the Transit Cooperative Research Program on The Role of the Private For-Hire Vehicle Industry in Public Transit indicates that transit authorities, in mid-sized cities such as Ann Arbor lack the resources to directly operate the supplemental services needed to fill gaps in fixed-route conventional service. Contracted, subsidized taxi service that augments conventional public transportation during its off-peak or closed hours is a cost-effective solution that particularly services the hospitality industry, and is well worth considering for any hospitality zone vested in enhancing the capaciousness of its transportation options.