MDOT Secured $650k for Transportation in Claiborne County

MDOT Secured $650k for Transportation in Claiborne County

To facilitate the better transit services USDOT ( U.S. Department of Transportation ) announces grants to help communities improve transportation from which the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) received a $650,000 in Claiborne County. With the acquired grant MDOT will help the Claiborne County Human Resource Agency and four partner organizations adapt technology to make it easier and more efficient for people to get on board in rural areas. The agencies will experiment with leveraging real-time data from the field to improve their dispatching system and the rider experience. They will also adapt technology to enhance their online ride management platform.

Why Funds are needed for Rural Transportation

Access to transportation contributes to the economic development, health, and quality of life of rural communities. Reliable transportation is needed for rural residents to access healthcare services, consumer services, employment and educational opportunities, and social services. It is also important for accessing recreation and other activities of daily life.

USDOT gave grants totaling $16.2 million to 32 states and two territories to support 40 projects. The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) of The Areas of Persistent Poverty (AoPP) initiative provided the funding. For planning, engineering, and technical studies as well as financial strategies to enhance transit in low-income areas as defined by the Census, AoPP grants are given out. In order to enhance transit service or introduce new services, such as paratransit, the program also supports coordinated human service transportation planning. 

With QRyde MDOT has reached greater heights of success, with the primary focus on the electronic signature function and reporting requirements for MDOT and CMPDD.

About MDOT 

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Mississippi. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in supporting Mississippi’s public transportation system, ports and waterways system, aeronautics and railroads. MDOT is headquartered in downtown Jackson.

What QRyde Offers

GDOT, MDOT, NHDOT, MART, and several other DoTs & transit agencies are using QRyde for the following services:

  • App-based ride-booking
  • Call center optimization
  • Competitive bidding alternatives
  • Client profile administration
  • Ride booking
  • Scheduling and dispatching
  • Route optimization
  • and a lot more

In a Nutshell QRyde is the ultimate AI based Transit software that offers the pre-eminent solutions to ease the transit services, besides that, QRyde also provides customized solutions according to the transit agency challenges, which often contributes to economic growth.

Other DoTs and agencies can also come onboard with QRyde to provide better services in their community

Having QRyde, MDOT obtained the funding by that the Claiborne County Human Resources Agency and four partner organizations will be able to modify technology in a way that makes it simpler and more effective for people to travel in rural areas. The agencies will leverage real-time data from the field to improve their scheduling & dispatching system to enhance their riders experience.

With an experience of more than 23 years in Public Transportation QRyde has lot to offer to all the agencies and DOTs.

Visit QRyde to know more about the services. https://qryde.com/

Difference between ride-hailing and ride-sharing services

Difference between ride-hailing and ride-sharing services

Let’s understand the difference between Ride-hailing and Ride-sharing:

All over the world, the population is increasing which has led to an increase in production of more vehicles on the road to meet the travel needs of all. However, there are new transportation network companies who provide services to reduce the number of cars on the road.

What are Transportation Network Companies?

Transportation Network Companies are trying to become the future of public transportation. As of now, a bus, taxi, auto-rickshaw, train, or even an airplane are usual modes of public transportation. Transportation network companies provide a peer-to-peer (or consumer to consumer) transportation network, where everyday people provide rides to other people with the hope that it will reduce the number of cars on the road. Imagine a family of five individuals and if all of them have to travel in different directions, then they would each need to have a car. When it comes to transportation network companies, you can hire a car to meet your requirement.

Transportation Network Companies provide two services mainly:

Ride- Hailing:

Suppose you want to go for an interview and you need to get there in 30 minutes. You hire a driver and a car. When you opt for ride hailing service, the ride is only for you. Your rider will not stop to pick up other passengers nor will they be provided an option to book your ride. In the past you might call a taxi cab from home or waive a taxi on the road. Now you can book a ride from your app and a vehicle will arrive to pick you up.

Ride- Sharing:

Now, let’s say you are traveling to central park and you are in no particular hurry, as per the ride sharing service, other riders can share your ride since they are travelling to the same destination or in the same direction. It’s similar to carpooling but not a regular pool.

Transportation Network Companies provide both of these services and ensure you reach your destination on time. Ride sharing is the more eco-friendly way to travel, though the excess number of TNC vehicles on the road are neutralizing the gains.

The alarming rise of ride hailing:

All of us like our private space and only on very few occasions, we choose to opt for ride sharing. Most of the time, we choose to hail a ride. This eliminates the benefits of opting for Transportation network companies. Studies show that, only 20% of the personal car trips are replaced by ride hailing and another 20% has replaced the traditional taxi services. Aside from this, there is another 60% who have replaced the transit users, the bikers and the people who walk. Choosing Ride hailing over ride sharing services increases pollution and causes greater environmental concerns.

As for agencies that provide public transit services and paratransit services, it gets more difficult when they are being opted for ride hailing rather than ride sharing services. Transit Agencies are functioning on strict budgets, low staffing are seeing a huge spike in operational costs. Aside from financial challenges, transit companies need to face unique situations like responding to fixed doctor’s appointments and people unable to enter the vehicle.

How QRyde is transforming agencies from ride-hailing to ride-sharing providers?

In order to reduce operational costs, decrease our carbon footprint and offer excellent customer services to our riders, we need to operate on Ride Sharing service.

Why Ride Sharing?

QRyde transportation software ensures these rides are shared among people traveling in the same direction. This will reduce fuel costs, staffing and even improve the quality of the service. The AI algorithm of QRyde Scheduling software allows the agencies to understand the best routes, practical difficulties and passenger location through one software and helps us to optimize rides accordingly.

70% of all rides are known at least 24 hours in advance, 90% of all non-emergency medical appointments are known 24 hours in advance. 50% of an individuals rides are recurring (education, employment or medical). With this much of advance notice, the software should have the ability to better plan and better group rides for maximum efficiency.

We are in the 21st century and it’s time to upgrade. Scheduling and dispatching software reduces the number of complaints from the users, ensures the passengers are picked up on time and also increases the on-time performance. Apps like Uber and Link transit have upgraded their software to heighten user experience and try to keep the environment from being exploited. The future of the transportation ecosystem is deemed to lie in the hands of ride sharing and ride hailing.

Team HBSS conducted 2 successful webinars with over 116 Attendees for Georgia DOT (GDOT) Sub-Recipients

Team HBSS conducted 2 successful webinars with over 116 Attendees for Georgia DOT (GDOT) Sub-Recipients

The webinars topics covered software updates and optimal use of the software for the sub-recipients:

  1. Vehicle maintenance module with preventive maintenance service notifications and maintaining the vehicle data including: Make, Model, Year, and Insurance details, including the data entry for the past service mileages and invoices.
  1. Overview of QRyde rider App: How to download, register, and use it.
      1. Introduction to PDF Vehicle Preventive Maintenance/Annual Inspection form and Accident Reporting form downloads – including:

      1. How to fill out the PDF forms
      2. How to upload the PDF forms
      3. How to download the PDF forms within the QRyde

      The webinar was well received by the sub-recipients in GDOT. Don Masisak, Transportation Director with Coastal Regional Commission (CRC) said the training was well organized and very informative for him and his staff. Several more webinars are being planned for Q1 and will be announced in the next couple weeks – stay tuned!

MART Announces New Workforce Development Grant from MassDOT for First Mile/Last Mile service in Ayer, Shirley and Devens

MART Announces New Workforce Development Grant from MassDOT for First Mile/Last Mile service in Ayer, Shirley and Devens

The focus of this program expansion will be a self-sustaining, on-demand transportation model to providing on-demand, last-mile/first-mile, employment shuttles, and COVID-sensitive travel options to the regional population around Ayer, Shirley and Devens and the neighboring communities addressing the needs of transportation among lower-income workers to the commercial business zones.

The program will utilize existing vehicles and resources, including MART COA’s in Ayer, Shirley, Boxboro, and Littleton as well as MART Direct Service fleet and MART subcontractor vehicles. 

The service will be provided to frontline workers, workforce in manufacturing / business facilities, and commuters seeking first Mile/last Mile connection services who are currently utilizing MART buses. These services will greatly benefit the lower income workforce, providing a low-cost, sustainable and reliable transportation to and from work.

The program is estimated to launch toward the beginning of Q1 of 2021 and riders will have the option of booking rides online using a mobile app or a web portal and a toll free number. Stay tuned for more information once the program launches.

FTA HOPE Grant for an integrated Fare Management System

FTA HOPE Grant for an integrated Fare Management System

The South-Central Community Action Agency (SCCAA) near Jackson, MS, will receive funding to test the feasibility of an integrated electronic fare payment system for riders of eight partner agencies in rural Mississippi. The program will utilize QRyde software, in order to provide universal payment card for unbanked riders to pay fares via cash, mobile device or web, including subsidies, to travel anywhere in the partner areas covering 9,000 square miles. This funding will be provided by the FTA’s Helping Obtain Prosperity for Everyone (HOPE) program. 

SCCAA is one of 25 programs in 17 states receiving a share of the $8.5 million in HOPE Program funds allocated to improve transit services or facilities in areas of persistent poverty through planning, engineering, technical studies, or financial plans. It’s intent is to help reduce fatality rates on rural transportation infrastructure and to increase access to jobs and healthcare through enhanced transit options and improved facilities.

Established in 2001, The South Central Community Action Agency, Inc. (SCCAA), a 501 (c) 3 tax exempt community service corporation. Founding community leaders were concerned about the rapid closing of major manufacturing companies which resulted in the loss of over 4,000 jobs. The early organizers of SCCAA were passionate about helping families who were losing their ability to be economically self-sufficient.

Read SCCAA’s press release here.

HBSS is included in 2020 Inc 5000

HBSS is included in 2020 Inc 5000

We’ve been chosen this year for Inc Magazine’s 5,000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America. The Inc. 5000 ranks companies by overall revenue growth over a three-year period and honoree companies are individually profiled on Inc.com. 

In the past 3 years, HBSS Connect Corp has seen a growth rate of 69% earning us our no. 4,584 spot on this prestigious list! While many of the honorees are repeats, year to year, this year we are one of 633 new recipients and we could not be more proud and honored.

“The companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 come from nearly every realm of business,” says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. “From health and software to media and hospitality, the 2020 list proves that no matter the sector, incredible growth is based on the foundations of tenacity and opportunism.”