The days of begging for a ride or having to walk miles to get to your favorite restaurant are about to be a distant memory.
Local public transportation in Decatur is about to get much easier and more efficient with its new microtransit service, Decatur Moves.
Decatur Moves is an Uber-like service; those in need of a ride can book a driver to pick them up and deliver them to a specified location.
Bookings can be done through the app or by phone. The service launches on September 8th, and it will operate from 5:15 a.m. to 8:15 p.m. every day of the week. Rides to in-town locations will cost a flat rate of $2, and rides into rural Decatur will cost $5.
“The motivation is simple: transportation is a lifeline,” Lacie Elzy, the Economic and Community Development Director for the City of Decatur, said. “Decatur had limited transportation options; [there was] no taxi service since COVID, ride-share services were limited and expensive, and the fixed-route system didn’t work for everyone. We wanted to create a more flexible, affordable option that expands access to jobs, school, healthcare, and recreation.”
Decatur Moves is particularly beneficial to Millikin students who might be international or just do not have a car on campus. Students will no longer have to plan their errands and excursions around when they can bum a ride from a friend.
Savannah Throneburg, a freshman at Millikin University, is all too familiar with the ride struggle.
“I have an internship I have to go to for school, and we’re trying to figure out how to get me there, but we have no idea what to use or how to get there,” Throneburg said.
Throneburg doesn’t have a car on campus and relies on friends to get her where she needs to go but sometimes struggles to align her schedule with their availability. She has already downloaded the Decatur Moves app in anticipation of the service.
“Decatur Moves would definitely help me to be able to get to my internship on time,” Throneburg said. “I also feel like it’s better than Uber because it is on the cheaper side for sure. It would help me get to places so I don’t waste my friends’ gas.”
Elzy is responsible for the implementation and oversight of the Decatur Moves initiative. The project has been in the works for three years after the city received a grant to complete a Comprehensive Operations Analysis, also known as a Route Study.
“Going into the analysis, I had been exposed to this concept of microtransit: on-demand transit for public transit agencies,” Elzy said. “The new route analysis and recommendations were made with the incorporation of microtransit in mind.”
This was a major win for public transportation in Decatur because no route changes had been made prior to 1989, when the system was last developed, and then implemented in 1991. Decatur is a much different place than it was at that time, and its transit system needs to reflect the change in times and infrastructure.
“Not everyone wants to or can bring a car to campus,” Elzy said. “I’m a two-time Millikin alum, and I remember how often students had to network just to find a ride to the grocery store. Decatur Moves changes that. It makes it easy to get to jobs, stores, restaurants, or even just a night out without stressing over parking or gas.”
Decatur Moves is an affordable transportation option that is available through the convenience of an app. It is a safe and reliable way to get from place to place in Decatur.
Make sure to download the Decatur Moves app, and from September 8th to October 8th, using the promo code FREE5, you can get five free rides.
