Success Stories

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) is the entity that oversees public transportation for Clark County and the Las Vegas Valley.  In 2019, the RTC selected MV to consolidate and operate their paratransit and senior transportation services, which had previously been run by multiple contractors, to increase operational efficiency and the overall level of customer service provided to their riders and the community. 

In late December of that same year, MV assumed responsibility for all aspects of service for the RTC’s paratransit, senior transportation and flexible demand response services including operations, facility and vehicle maintenance, dispatch, and safety.  Working under an aggressive timeline, MV transitioned multiple operations and facilities supporting more than 630 professionals and 380 vehicles.  As a part of that successful transition, MV implemented a rigorous training program, safety standards, new operational technologies, best practices and a coordinated community partnership program that collectively gave the RTC increased flexibility to adapt and grow their service over time. Within the first days of operation, MV experienced a record numbers of trips and successfully responded by adjusting schedules that resulted in on-time performance well above contractual standards.

The increased adaptability provided by MV was quickly put to test, as less than 90-days later the COVID-19 pandemic hit.  MV’s Las Vegas operations immediately set high standards for vehicle and facility sanitization and service changes that provided appropriate physical distancing.  Additional innovation efforts led by MV included retrofitting vehicles with plexiglass driver enclosure barriers to further protect our operators, establishing a supply chain center for PPE based in Las Vegas that served MV’s entire national operations, and creating unique opportunities to keep our workforce engaged and employed, due to reduced service levels, delivering food and school supplies, for example, to various community organizations. 

In 2019 MV was selected to provide paratransit services by King County Metro in Seattle, Washington.  King County Metro is the eighth-largest transit bus agency in the United States and, at the time, carried an average of 395,000 passengers each weekday.  Metro was seeking to transform their paratransit operations from a three-contractor model to a single provider model in order to ensure a stronger focus on performance, accountability, equity, customer service, and continuous improvement.  The agency was seeking to address a 2017 county Auditor’s Office report that exposed a number of issues that were contributing to low ridership and costly services to include long waits for bus pickups, overly long trips, and late or extremely early arrivals at destinations.

MV agreed to adhere to higher, enforced standards such as narrowed pickup windows and trip times that are more comparable to fixed-route buses and assumed responsibility for turnkey paratransit services, including call center operations, maintenance, pathway review, travel training, and quality assurance across multiple yards with more than 400 team members and a fleet of over 365 vehicles. 

After a seamless transition, the MV-led paratransit program experienced improved reliability, safety and customer service.  A  subsequent King County Auditor’s Office report indicated the Access paratransit program had made “significant progress” in efforts to lower costs, strengthen the quality of service and increase equitable access.

In 2012, MV began operating the LIFT paratransit service for Sun Metro, the transportation agency serving the El Paso, Texas area. LIFT (Living Independently Facilitated by Transportation) is an ADA demand-responsive service available to persons with disabilities who are unable to access fixed route transportation. MV provides curb-to-curb service in most cases, with door-to-door service offered to qualifying patrons. Service operates within El Paso city limits, accommodating trip origins and destinations within 1.5 miles of Sun Metro’s fixed routes. MV operates and maintains a fleet of 74 CNG and diesel vans for this service. MV also subcontracts trips to local taxi companies as needed.

When MV assumed operations, the service was experiencing on-time performance issues, safety challenges, customer service complaints, and excessive road calls. MV worked with the City of El Paso to identify root causes and create a plan for improvement. Over the two years that followed, MV’s team was able to realize improvements in all problem areas and exceeded client goals. MV’s general manager, maintenance manager, director of maintenance, and corporate team were recognized by both Sun Metro and MV for their dedication and improvements to this operation.

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) provides convenient bus and rail service to the Denver, Colorado metropolitan area. The RTD partnered with MV to operate their paratransit and demand-response services:

Access-A-Ride is a brokered, door-to-door paratransit service available to eligible passengers who are unable to use fixed route service due to a disability. With a partnership dating back to 2002, MV operates 50 percent of the service in the greater Denver metropolitan area. MV operates and maintains a fleet of 172 vehicles.

Call-N-Ride is a general public demand-responsive and deviated fixed route service which operates in 11 zones within RTD’s service area. Delivered with a fleet of 34 vehicles, this service is primarily used by commuters transferring to RTD’s light rail system. MV began operating this service in 2008.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) faced ongoing construction projects and special events drawing thousands of visitors to the City of Las Vegas that caused ridership and traffic patterns to constantly fluctuate, making it difficult to measure on-time performance.

As a long-time partner for RTC fixed-route services, MV analyzed current route and reporting data, discovering discrepancies in the method for measuring on-time performance and errors in the geofencing around time points that were causing inaccurate arrival data to be captured. MV collaborated with the RTC to create a new on-time performance methodology and correct geofencing issues, instituting policies that addressed schedule adherence, particularly impacting buses running hot and excessive dwell times. Additionally, MV developed a “Route Impediment Log” to manage issues that could impede on-time performance – including construction projects, school zones, crosswalks, on-street parking, bus stop locations, and traffic light patterns.

MV’s comprehensive approach to on-time tracking exposed potential areas of concern which were used to adjust route timing for future service changes, resulting in improved on-time performance and a two-thirds reduction of on-time performance violations.

Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) first partnered with MV in 2002 to provide fixed-route bus services for those who live or work in and visit the Tri-Valley Region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, MV is responsible for all operational activities of the LAVTA Wheels bus service including safety, training, dispatch, maintenance, vehicle cleaning and washing, bus shelter maintenance, road supervision, and accounting.

Our long-term partnership is founded on providing safe, efficient and reliable transportation and a shared vision for improving service to retain existing riders and increase the attraction of new riders. With this goal, MV has led or supported a number of service improvements including the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), hybrid diesel-electric buses, traffic signal priority for buses, school service, and solar lighting at bus shelters. Today, MV remains committed to continuously improving overall system efficiency and bringing new and innovative ideas to LAVTA and the passengers in the community.

Since its first contract with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) in 2001, MV has become the largest provider of services for LADOT. Today, MV operates and maintains 245 gas, propane, and CNG vehicles supporting fixed route, commuter, and paratransit operations throughout LADOT’s service area:

Cityride Dial-A-Ride: Cityride is a reservations-based, curb-to-curb paratransit service available for eligible persons with disabilities and persons age 65 or older. Operated exclusively by MV, Cityride serves three geographical areas in Los Angeles County.

DASH: The DASH community fixed route service operates in neighborhoods throughout the City of Los Angeles and the downtown area, connecting residents to other fixed route and rail services. MV operates this service in the Central, South, and North regions.

Commuter Express: Commuter Express provides limited-stop fixed route service, primarily serving commuters whose destinations are in the downtown Los Angeles area. MV operates this service in the North and South regions.

Throughout its longstanding relationship with LADOT, MV has operated these three services in various contractual combinations and has worked with the Department to optimally reorganize the service packages. MV also maintains a forward-thinking technology strategy ensuring the LADOT system runs efficiency and reliably to include mobile driver terminals and software systems for scheduling, dispatch and service monitoring.

A leading global retail company with a large concentration of employees located near its US-based corporate headquarters desired to implement a regional employee commuter service.

The company partnered with MV, who developed and managed a start-up plan encompassing fleet procurement, facility, and technology deployment – to include MV’s propriety OneMV on-demand software. MV’s service plan optimized overall route design and added demand service to routes experiencing low ridership volumes. The service was rolled out with a 21-vehicle fleet allowing employees to reserve seats on their mobile devices for travel from three major suburb cities, track the status of their bus, and ride in comfort.

In addition to the commuter service, MV also operates 34 transit buses and eight demand response vehicles throughout the headquarter city, transporting employees between campus buildings and major commuter points.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory operated its own shuttle bus service and was interested in finding a partner that could operate the system, maintain the fleet and optimize the route strategy to accommodate professors, students and employees between the laboratory, other campuses and public transportation. They found that partner in MV.

MV designed and rolled out a successful new shuttle service that operates on weekdays on five designated routes with a 14-vehicle fleet of vans and biodiesel buses. MV deployed the NextBus GPS system to monitor service, dispatch vehicles, and provide passengers with vehicle estimated time of arrival by route, stop, and direction. Additionally, MV implemented a secret rider program and used quarterly customer surveys and on-board customer comment cards to gather passenger feedback to assist in gauging service quality and performance.

Today, the MV-managed system efficiently provides transportation for professors, students, and employees between the laboratory, the UC Berkeley campus, BART train station, and other area stops.

Loyola University Chicago has partnered with MV since 2014 to offer SafeRide service to students, staff, and faculty. Originally, passenger reservations were made by calling a telephone number and navigating through a phone tree to reach an operator who booked the trip manually and subsequently dispatched a driver over a radio. With no estimated arrival time provided, students often would call back and repeat the process to obtain status.

To enhance the passenger experience, MV designed and deployed an on-demand approach based on its proprietary OneMV platform that included web-based and mobile passenger applications allowing students to book and cancel trips as well as access a “Where's My Ride” feature that tracks real-time vehicle location status.

Today, MV operates Loyola’s SafeRide and Intercampus Shuttle fleet of biodiesel and gas vehicles. The OneMV on-demand platform enables efficient trip scheduling and provides users and administrators with real-time monitoring and estimated time of arrival information. Student and faculty response to the convenience and time-saving attributes of the service has been overwhelmingly positive.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory operated its own shuttle bus service prior to 2010 and was interested in finding a partner that could operate the system, maintain the fleet and optimize the route strategy to accommodate professors, students and employees between the laboratory, other campuses and public transportation.

MV collaborated with the university transportation staff and student representatives to develop a customized solution based on their unique needs. With that input, MV designed and deployed a new shuttle service that operates on weekdays on five designated routes with a 14-vehicle fleet of vans and biodiesel buses. MV’s solution included a NextBus GPS system used to dispatch and monitor service and provide passengers with vehicle ETA by route, stop, and direction.

To deliver the best customer experience and continuous service improvement, MV implemented a secret rider program, quarterly customer surveys and on-board customer comment cards to gather passenger feedback to assist MV in gauging service quality and performance.

The system rolled out successfully and now provides efficient transportation for professors, students, and employees between the laboratory, the UC Berkeley campus, BART train station, and other area stops.

Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is the main airport serving Raleigh, Durham, and the surrounding Research Triangle region of North Carolina.  RDU was looking for a transportation partner that could design and implement a new high-quality shuttle service that minimized passenger transit times between their automobiles and the two RDU terminals – with an emphasis on safety and reliability, as well as customer-focused service delivery.

MV developed a solution that emphasized customer experience, allowing passengers who parked in public parking lots to be picked up at or near their cars within three minutes after parking.  Additionally, before the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed service, MV was in the process of launching a customer-facing app permitting passengers to receive shuttle ETA and pick-up details, and during non-peak times, riders would be able to push a button and get picked up at their car and delivered directly to the terminals – a service branded “Trunk to Terminal.”

MV has partnered with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado to provide transportation services to employees and visitors since 2010 and today provides operations and maintenance for campus shuttle, on-demand, and last-mile commuter services. In 2019, MV and NREL collaborated on the planning and launch of an EasyMile EZ-10 autonomous vehicle (AV) into circulator service during peak demand hours, carrying up to 12 passengers and traveling on a one-mile loop connecting multiple buildings and remote parking on the campus.  

The new AV shuttle also served as a research platform for NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy to collect and analyze vehicle and charging system operational data to help researchers better understand associated energy usage, charging and energy storage needs, and autonomous systems operation and control. This research effort provided insight into a variety of areas important to the connected, intelligent, and automated vehicle space including grid integration, intelligent charge management, energy use, and human interactions with automated transportation systems.

As part of the seamless and safe shuttle deployment, MV supported the acquisition, certification and deployment – including rigorous testing – of the AV with manufacturer EasyMile, and subsequently provided ongoing operations, maintenance and onboard stewards to offer passenger assistance when needed.

The Anchorage School District (ASD) serves 17,000 students spread over sparsely-populated bus routes that span over 2,000 miles per day. The large region, harsh Alaskan weather, and poor vehicle maintenance were impacting on-time performance with students frequently experiencing delays.

ASD partnered with MV to take over transportation services and help address the maintenance and service reliability issues. MV undertook a comprehensive overhaul of bus operations, including refreshing the fleet of 178 buses and two bus terminals. MV hired experienced drivers familiar with harsh weather conditions, instituted rigorous training and rolled out a preventative winter maintenance program that included the addition of block heaters and automatic chains. MV also took a fresh look at the 160 service routes, including 71 special education routes, and reevaluated each to ensure optimal scheduling.

Once the transition was complete, the school district experienced noted improvements to service reliability and on-time performance. Further, communication outreach was greatly improved with the implementation of proactive alerts to parents of special needs children when buses were running more than 15 minutes late.

LYNX is the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, serving Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties; an area of approximately 2,500 square miles with a resident population of more than 1.8 million people.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, LYNX was faced with an urgent need to quickly move their call center staff to a work-from-home model to continue to provide necessary service to their riders – including taking critical paratransit reservations. 

MV’s Professional Services team quickly mobilized to design a cloud-based voice solution that called for forwarding LYNX’s primary number to an MV-managed voice platform, allowing call center staff to take calls from their home.  MV’s solution also included accelerated procurement of an innovative “teleworker-in-a-box” hardware solution for customer service representatives and provided documented teleworker best practice guidance and management reporting.  MV delivered the entire voice and hardware solution in under two weeks. 

LYNX is the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, serving Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties; an area of approximately 2,500 square miles with a resident population of more than 1.8 million people.  In late 2019, LYNX recognized their current core and ADA maps were no longer accurate to their service area posting potential compliance issues with FTA requirements.  Turning to MV to provide a solution, our professional service Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping experts provided new core and ADA maps within several weeks to use as input to service planning – and an offer for an annual subscription service to ensure ongoing accuracy of the agency’s maps. 

Union City Transit is the public transit service provider for Union City, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Union City needed to quickly remove and then update multiple route and stop sequences across their service area due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its dramatic impact on ridership.  These changes required an update to their master general transit feed specification (GTFS) in the agency’s Syncromatics platform used to define transit schedules and the associated geographic information. 

With less than three weeks available to make these urgent changes, Union City engaged MV’s Professional Services team who dispatched a technology specialist to confirm the requirements, update the route and stop details, and configure and publish the corresponding system files.  The timely updates provided operators with confidence in their routes and passengers with reliable information needed to reach work and appointments at a time when meeting job obligations was critical.

In 2019, MV Transportation was selected to operate the “Metro Access” paratransit service for King County Metro in Seattle, Washington.  As part of the operational transition, MV migrated and updated King County’s on-premise Trapeze environment to the cloud, providing the benefits of the latest software release, advanced security, and increased reliability with a redundant and diverse hosting footprint that enables business continuity in the event of a local or regional outage.

As the largest independent hoster of Trapeze applications in the industry, MV successfully transitioned all associated county applications to the cloud from start to finish within five months, including a cutover lasting only 8-hours.  MV continues to provide monitoring and management of supporting devices, troubleshoot incidents via ITIL-based methodology and conduct monthly patching of servers.  Subsequent to the initial transition, MV has deployed additional Trapeze applications for King County including Itinerary Planning Assistant (IPA), PASS-Web and TripBroker Portal, collectively contributing to the further enhancement of operational efficiency and improved customer experience.

Recently, the FTA issued the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) rule outlining specific safety planning requirements that public transportation operators must demonstrate they are maintaining, including core processes and procedures used to implement a Safety Management System (SMS). The deadline for agency’s plan approval was December 31, 2020.  MV’s safety leadership team participated in a pilot program with the FTA during their drafting of resource documentation in 2019 and subsequently deployed MV’s own PTASP in early 2020.  

The City of Atascadero asked MV, as its current provider, if we would develop and implement the PTASP on their behalf.  MV quickly assembled a team that met with city representatives to ensure alignment and began the process of developing their PTASP.  Given MV had the PTASP structure in place to support our own operations, we quickly crafted the main program document ensuring alignment throughout the process to meet the needs of Atascadero.  In just a matter of weeks, MV provided the final approved draft and enabled Atascadero to present and gain approval in their November, 2020 board meeting.

In 2021, King County passed the Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP), a five-year blueprint for climate action, integrating climate change into all areas of operations and work with King County cities, partners, communities, and residents. The SCAP outlined King County’s priorities and commitments for climate action, including a goal of transitioning two-thirds of King County Metro’s existing fleet to zero emission by 2030. 

To begin to understand the implications of achieving the county’s SCAP priorities and developing a path forward for transitioning the paratransit fleet, which MV maintains overall operational responsibility, MV hosted whiteboarding sessions with city and county representatives and MV’s vehicle charging strategy partner, Bluwave-ai, and subsequently ran a series of simulations based on the details gathered in those sessions.  Early findings included a perspective on the total infrastructure footprint required for battery-electric charging for the current 400+ vehicle paratransit fleet, best practice guidance for vehicle operation on the road, and early estimates for the total fleet charging cost that are now being used by the county as it plans the most appropriate next steps in its journey to zero emission.