I tried the new on-demand public transit. Here's how it went.

Editor's note: I don't do a lot of opinion content – and for good reason – but I did think it was important to try this new public transit option firsthand and document how it went. So, you'll find some opinions here, but it's in the interest of sharing my genuine experience for journalistic reasons.

Simplified: Sioux Falls' new citywide on-demand public transit is an affordable, effective way to get around if you've got lots of time, but it's not without its challenges and limitations.

First, some background

The city began contracting with a new transit provider, New York-based Via, at the start of the year.

This spring, Via shared plans to change-up public transit in the city with a new approach. Essentially, the idea is to have fewer, more frequent fixed routes combined with a citywide on-demand option – pitched as essentially a public transit version of Uber or Lyft.

How does it work in practice?

Taking the first ride using on-demand transit required a bit of legwork to get everything set up.

Via has its own app that you have to download, and there are quite a few steps to get it all set up, including:

getting a verification code sent to your phone,
filling in your name, phone number, credit card information,
changing settings to allow the app to track your location and send notifications.

How did the pick-up go?

First, it's worth noting that for this experiment I wanted to try only the on-demand bus services and avoid using fixed routes.

It took me several tries to find a location from my central Sioux Falls home that would allow me to take an on-demand ride instead of prompting me to use fixed routes.
- The airport, for example, wasn't an option. I was instead prompted to take a bus and then a 50-minute walk.

Finally, I landed on a ride from my home – near Augustana University and Sanford's main campus – to the Butterfly House and Aquarium near Sertoma Park.

I requested the ride at around 10:50 a.m. on Wednesday, and my estimated time of arrival was 11:30 a.m.

From there, the ride did function very similar to other ride-share services. I could see when the driver would arrive, could watch a little van move on the map while it made stops on the way to pick me up, and the app prompted me to walk to the end of the block so I could get picked up on a main road.

What about the ride itself?

The ride was very pleasant.

I was a bit surprised because I was expecting a normal van inside, but instead there were smaller seats behind the driver and a row in the back, leaving space in the middle for a wheelchair – because the on-demand is also serving paratransit needs.

I was dropped off at the corner of 51st Street and Oxbow Avenue – so there was a little bit of an additional walk to the Butterfly House.

The estimated arrival time was initially 11:30, but I was dropped off at 11:40 and still had that additional walk.

Did I make a new friend? Of course I did.

On the way to the Butterfly House, we stopped to pick up one other passenger, a woman named Miah Ventura, and it was in my conversation with her that I realized the importance of accessible public transit.

Ventura hadn't been able to use the Sioux Falls bus system previously because she was outside the coverage area on the western edge of town.

This became particularly challenging when – due to some health concerns – she had to give up driving a few years ago.

In order to get her three children – ages 14, 12 and 6 – to school, she was relying on ride-shares that were costing her $20/day.

Now, she calls up an on-demand ride about an hour before her kids need to be at school, the driver picks them up and drops them off right in front of the school building. And because kids ride free with Sioux Area Metro, it's costing her nothing.

Any other takeaways?

Overall, the on-demand service is great in theory. And in practice, it's also very helpful, but I don't foresee it replacing my typical driving habits.

It's far more time-consuming. It took me just shy of an hour to make a 2.5 mile drive. It would've taken the same amount of time to just walk there.
- And, full disclosure, when I got there I ended up taking a Lyft back to my house because I didn't have another hour to dedicate to this assignment.

On the "pros" side, I do think the Via app was incredibly helpful. It showed clear routes using a mix of fixed route buses and on-demand rides, and I appreciated knowing through the app where there would be walking involved.

I also had a fantastic conversation with my driver, Jeremiah. He had great things to say about working for Via, and while he also expressed a few mild annoyances with the new on-demand option (namely, folks not understanding exactly where they should be to get picked up or pick-up locations in spots that don't make logical sense), he said it's largely been very good.
And, more than anything, it was eye-opening to see how much this new transit option means for folks like Miah Ventura, who don't have any other option for getting around town.

Oh, and one more added bonus, the ride was actually free because Via has a promotion going right now where the first 10 rides booked through the app are free. Typical fare is $1.50.