RIDE Wilson
RIDE Wilson was a relaunch of the microtransit service in Wilson, North Carolina. Focused on everyday mobility, the service is crucial to the area as it's the town's only public transit
Client Context
Located just east of Raleigh, the town of Wilson is a quiet but pivotal area in the state. Originally known as an industrial hub, the town has begun to grow rapidly as its local economy expands into other sectors. This growth has significantly affected residents' commutes, as the city's outskirts and suburbs continue to sprawl outward.
With residents relying heavily on personal vehicles to travel within the area due to inefficient bus service, the city took a drastic step. In 2020, the city replaced its entire bus network with a microtransit service in order to make it easier and more affordable for residents to travel around town.
Project Overview
I was tasked with handling the transition of RIDE Wilson from Via's legacy Tech Stack onto Via's new standard infrastructure. This consisted of supporting the development of an updated consumer mobile app and migration of components used in the live service (Drivers, Vehicles, etc.) Furthermore, existing user data was also moved to ensure that the rider transition to the new app was as seamless as possible.
In addition, the vehicle fleet was revamped, with Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles maintained to ensure transit access for riders with disabilities.
Unique Factors / Challenges
Unique factors of this project were the following:
Operational testing
Data synchronization
Payment integration
Rider change management
Technical Migration planning
Operational testing was a unique challenge because the project centered on technical upgrades to a live operating service. This factor meant that testing processes and timing had to be altered to ensure the operational service wasn't impacted.
Data synchronization was notable because the program was never shut down during the transition to avoid disrupting riders' commute routines. Therefore, data was being written and stored within the old infrastructure right up until the service migration actually occurred. To enable this, rider data was transferred multiple times to ensure all previous data was present in the new database.
Payment integration efforts were significant because the technical update included updating available payment options and payment processing flows. This included adding newer payment methods such as Apple Pay. Moreover, it was critical that existing rider credits purchased by users were transferred and usable within the new app.
Rider change management was notable because RIDE Wilson is the only public transit service in the city. Therefore, additional marketing effort and failsafe systems were required due to the heavy public dependence on the service.
Finally, coordination of the migration was notable, as it required extensive In-Person and remote-office resources to be aligned within a short time window on the morning of the migration. Systems were successfully implemented and workflows executed overnight within a couple of hours, ensuring that the old technical systems remained operational through the end of the previous service day and that the new ones were ready to go by the next morning. Support and engineering teams globally were involved in this effort.
Achievements & Outcome
A white-label mobile application titled "RIDE Wilson"
A needed update to the existing microtransit service offering Wilson residents a public transit option for traveling within the region
Service of over 1,000 rides per day
