Washtenaw Nonprofit Partners with MUVE to Offer Next Gen Transportation Solutions

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The Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express has partnered with MUVE to create easily accessible mobility in the area. // Courtesy of MUVE
The Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express has partnered with MUVE to create easily accessible mobility in the area. // Courtesy of MUVE

The Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE), together with its technology partner, MUVE, announced the launch of a new transportation app platform, which integrates the full suite of MUVE’s technology.

The company’s technology solution focuses on universal design by offering accessible on-demand and pre-booked transportation services through its mobile, desktop, and kiosk applications. Additionally, it includes dispatch mapping and driver in-bus real-time information updates.

“By collaborating with MUVE, we can now support our community’s options for e-reservations on both door-to-door and accessible fixed route transit,” says Julia Roberts, executive director of WAVE. “Along with the on-boarding of additional drivers, this new technology lets us now offer a more user-friendly service and try extended weekday demand-responsive service hours, both earlier in the mornings and later in the afternoons, throughout our area.”

This Michigan Mobility Challenge project, funded in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation and Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, has been in the technology integration and training phase for the past few months. It enhances mobility solutions such as shared rides to work and non-emergency medical transportation services for everyone.

“Working in conjunction with WAVE, we’ve been able to create an elevated mobility standard for Washtenaw County that improves access, reliability, and inclusivity in transportation solutions for people of all abilities,” says Anthony W. Shannon, co-founder and technology lead of MUVE. “This is a great example of how strategic alignment, breakthrough technology, and partnerships between public and private entities can help communities innovate their mobility ecosystems.”

WAVE is a nonprofit organization serving Chelsea, Dexter, and surrounding communities, that provides equitable, affordable, and sustainable public transportation for all, including people of diverse races and identities, persons with disabilities, older adults, and students, as well as transit-dependent individuals in western Washtenaw County.