Pierce Transit to give public free rideshare trips to transit services

Pierce County is trying something new to help get people off the roads and onto public transit.

It's a plan officials hope will save them money in the long run, but first, local transit officials do have to spend money so riders can get on their smart phones and call for a ride to get to transit centers using services like Uber and Lyft.

Pierce County Transit announced this week that it's getting $205,000 in federal money as part of a yearlong pilot program to coordinate on-demand rides within certain service areas.

Users will go to the rideshare’s app, put in a certain code and get free rides on Uber, Lyft or even taxis to certain transit centers on the transit's tab.

The goal is to help people who don't have a car be able to access bus service and also ease congestion at park and rides so more people don't have to drive to get there and struggle to find a parking space.

One hope is to eventually eliminate little-used routes and save the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

There is no word yet on which areas will be part of the pilot program, but transit officials say they are looking at Puyallup, along with the transit centers in Northeast Tacoma and Browns Point.

The program is set to start early next year.

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Cox Media Group