KINGSTON – Ulster County has been selected for a phase one grant to bring affordable, convenient, electric microtransit, on-demand through a mobile app to Kingston and Ellenville.
County Executive Patrick Ryan says in simplistic terms, the project would provide people with point-to-point ‘green’ transportation through Via public mobility solutions.
“Think of bringing the much more on-demand approach that we are used to in apps like Lyft and UBER, but doing that with public transit, which is really exciting,” he said. “The vehicles would be electric vehicles. It puts us in the 21st century with our public transit, which are thrilled to be on the leading edge of.”
The proposal with the Via company dubbed “Ulster Connect,” was one of 17 projects selected to compete for up to $85 million in grand prizes under phase two.
The initial phase proposal will receive up to $200,000, including a $100,000 planning grant for further proposal development, up to $50,000 in funding for community partners, and up to $50,000 in in-kind support from technical experts.
The prizes are supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
