How to make Microtransit work. Hint: it's about coverage, not ridership.

Jarrett Walker writes to explain the pragmatic details of microtransit (which the Human Transit author and consultant prefers to call Flexible Transit, as revealed early in the article).
"Flexible transit means any transit service where the route vary [sic] according to who requests it," according to Walker. That means "the common terms demand responsive transit, on-demand transit and 'microtransit' mean the same thing."
So how should communities and transit agencies make flexible transit work as part of a publicly funded transit network? That is, how should transit agencies taxpayers are getting their money's worth when they devote public dollars to flexible transit operations? One of Walker's main assertions might surprise: "flexible transit makes sense only if ridership is not the primary goal of a service."Transit systems balance competing needs of ridership and coverage, according to Walker, and flexible transit is devoted to the latter.
Last year, Walker wrote a series on Microtransit devoted to dispelling notions derived from the novelty of the concept and to cautioning transit agencies from sinking too many resources into the new technologies promising to change the nature of transit.
FULL STORY: What is “Microtransit” For?

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Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Updating LA’s Tree Rules Could Bring More Shade to Underserved Neighborhoods
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California's Canal Solar Projects Aim to Conserve Resources and Expand Clean Energy
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HHS Staff Cuts Gut Energy Assistance Program
The full staff of a federal program that distributes heating and cooling assistance for low-income families was laid off, jeopardizing the program’s operations.
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