WALNUT CREEK, CA – The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and Tri Delta Transit are marking another milestone in the innovative East Contra Costa County Dynamic Personal Micro Transit (DPMT) Project. Today, CCTA and Tri Delta Transit are announcing a partnership with East County Connection Partners, LLC (ECCP), made up of transportation innovators Glydways and Plenary Americas; and lead construction contractor Flatiron.
The DPMT Project is a multi-city, on-demand transit option designed to meet the diverse mobility needs of people in Eastern Contra Costa County. ECCP will help bring the vision of a safe, on-demand, single-party, transportation system into reality with its zero-emission, autonomous, four-person Glydcars. These electric vehicles travel in narrow, dedicated elevated or at-grade guideways, making more efficient use of space, substantially cutting operational costs, and providing a sustainable option that aligns with local, regional, and state emission reduction goals. The Glydcars are designed with convenience in mind, with enough space for passengers to easily travel with their luggage or bikes. The vehicles are also fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide enough room to comfortably fit a wheelchair.
This new, fare-based transit solution will help alleviate the increasing congestion on State Route 4 (SR-4) and major highway in East County. The project also aims to enhance transit accessibility in East County by improving connections to existing options such as BART and local bus services.
In Spring 2021, the cities of Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley and Pittsburg completed the East County DPMT Feasibility Study (Study) to support a potential micro-transit deployment with Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in East Contra Costa County. Subsequently, the CCTA and Tri Delta Transit partnered to evaluate the potential deployment of the East County DPMT project.
ECCP specializes in a revolutionary on-demand public transportation system. CCTA in partnership with Tri Delta Transit, selected ECCP as the preferred vendor for the DPMT project after a comprehensive evaluation process. CCTA, Tri Delta Transit, and ECCP will work together to deliver an initial viable segment of the larger project through a unique public-private partnership (P3).
“We’re very excited about this project and believe it will significantly improve the quality of life in our community,” said CCTA Board Chair Federal Glover. “It’s a bold step towards a more sustainable and accessible future for Contra Costa.”
To actualize that future, CCTA and Tri Delta Transit determined last year that engaging a private sector partner to collaborate with would be the most beneficial strategy. The P3 approach has proven to be a highly efficient agreement, allowing for smoother delivery and deployment of transportation projects. P3s unlock the ability to quickly mobilize the resources required for state-of-the-art, effective, and sustainable transportation solutions, such as the DPMT project.
“This partnership is a significant milestone for us,” said Tri Delta Transit Board Chair, Lamar Thorpe. “By working with ECCP, we can leverage their expertise in innovative transportation technologies to better serve East County residents.”
The partners will also collaborate to pursue funding for implementation of the initial segment.
More information about the DPMT project is available at https://ccta.net/projects/east-county-dynamic-personal-micro-transit-project/
About the Contra Costa Transportation Authority
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts. CCTA is responsible for planning, funding, and delivering critical transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go. CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in place to keep traffic levels manageable. More information about CCTA is available at ccta.net.
About Tri Delta Transit
Tri Delta Transit, a transit service provided by the Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority, provides more than two million trips each year to a population of over 315,000 residents in the 225 square miles of Eastern Contra Costa County. They currently operate 15 local bus routes Monday – Friday, five local bus routes on weekends, door-to-door bus service for senior citizens and people with disabilities, and on-demand rideshare services. To learn more, visit trideltatransit.com
About ECCP
East County Connection Partners (ECCP), consisting of Plenary Americas (Infrastructure Developer) and Glydways, Inc. (System Technology Partner) supported by Flatiron (Lead Construction Contractor) strives to deliver a system that not only allows the region to address growing congestion along State Route 4 (SR 4), but also prepares a pathway for future growth connecting existing public transit to communities while supporting a strong local economy. As a California-based team with the majority of team members located in the Bay Area, ECCP is excited to create an equitable, sustainable, and enjoyable life for all who work and live in East Contra Costa County.
Plenary Americas is a leading specialized developer of long-term partnership projects, with a portfolio of USD$23.5 billion across both the United States and Canada, including more than 50 projects in the health, transportation, defense, justice, education, energy, and government accommodation sectors. Plenary engages in the entire spectrum of project evolution, including financing, planning, design, construction, complementary commercial development, and asset management operations. This comprehensive approach underscores our commitment to lifecycle performance and excellence at every phase of a project. Governments and public sector agencies look to our team to be an innovative and trusted voice in undertaking public infrastructure that meets the genuine needs and aspirations of a community.
For more information, please visit www.plenaryamericas.com or follow us on X/Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Glydways is an automated personal rapid transit system (PRT) that provides on-demand, high capacity service moving riders in purpose-built autonomous vehicles on narrow and lightweight fixed guideways. The system has a fundamental focus on the rider experience – on-demand, direct to destination trips, single-party (4 people) – to attract more ridership out of cars and onto transit. The net results are small, lightweight vehicles that operate extremely efficiently at all times of day, significantly less intrusive and costly infrastructure to build, and sustainable economics and environmental impact. Glydways can safely and reliably move thousands of people per hour in fleets of small battery electric autonomous vehicles by creating an interconnected and intelligent system of omnipresent infrastructure monitoring systems and communications systems that work with the vehicles to create a highly controlled operational environment. This approach allows Glydways to solve the many mobility challenges where rail is not feasible or affordable but requires more throughput than mixed-traffic or protected lane on-road modes.
Glydways, which was born into public transit at GoMentum Station with the vision of addressing equity and congestion and has received significant hands-on field reviews and user testing feedback from various East Contra Costa County stakeholders. Glydways, formerly known as Wayfarer, was founded in 2016.
Learn more at www.glydways.com
Flatiron is the trusted partner to deliver innovative solutions to infrastructure challenges across the U.S. and Canada. Flatiron collaborates with public and private clients to deliver heavy civil infrastructure – including highways and bridges; aviation, rail and transit; dams and water treatment facilities; and underground projects. For more on how Flatiron is transforming infrastructure, visit www.flatironcorp.com. Flatiron is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, an engineering-led global infrastructure group.
6 comments
Might as well throw taxpayer money in a fire pit. Fix The Roads!!!
This sounds like the bullet train. Going to be money to unions. Check whose donating to the politicians. More of taxpayer money thrown down a hole.
I can’t wait to see Antioch’s 1st sideshow featuring these! 😬
Always sounds so wonderful during the meetings.
Must have been one heck of a sales pitch.
Considering areas proposed very likely to be rolling tagger canvases.
One plus homeless can use them to transport their recyclables
Will be entertainment for kids who throw objects in front of vehicles to see system stopped.
Wasn’t there an adult in the room telling to explain it’s an expensive unrealistic fantasy
and this is not disney land or magic mountain.
BAD idea.
First thought , some of the special people of yock town smoking and drinking in he vehicles ,laughing it up. Next person got to put up with the smell and mess.
I had a conversation recently with a CCTA employee who indicated more people need to attend and make public comment at their board and committee meetings indicating that money should be spent on low-cost, quick-build fully protected bike and ped infrastructure that serves the needs of all residents from all economic backgrounds. According to the employee, the agency has a ton of money that is reserved for “innovative” and “new technology” projects. The employee agrees that money would be best spent on projects that can quickly and safely get residents to ditch their cars for bikes.
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