Albemarle Supervisors to convene special meeting to launch MicroCAT

There is a special meeting of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors that will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital. 

Under Virginia law, any time a quorum of an elected body knows they will be in attendance at an event, public notice must be made. Supervisors will be on hand for the launch of MicroCAT, a long-planned one-year pilot to run on-demand public transportation in areas that are underserved or not served by fixed-route bus service.

“MicroCAT officially launches to the public on October 30, 2023, and will use innovative technology to provide a transit option that matches multiple passengers traveling in the same direction into one shared minivan to solve ‘transit deserts,’ or areas where fixed-routes cannot efficiently reach,” reads a press release for the launch. 

The fare free service will cover the Places29-North and Pantops areas using Toyota Siennas provided by the firm Via. That company won a contract from Charlottesville Area Transit to provide the service. 

Supervisors will be on hand for the event. How will they know if the project has been a success? That’s a question I will be asking at the event. 

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