Bridj, the most anticipated pop-up bus service some still might not know about, is set to shake up Boston's public transportation industry once it launches June 2. The company's founder, 23-year-old Matthew George, however, insists Bridj will merely serve as a transit alternative – not the transit system.
"We're not competing with the MBTA," George told BostInno, "I want to make that very clear."
He can tell MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey himself June 12, at BostInno's second annual State of Innovation Forum, when both will join Anthony Tivnan, President at Magellan Jets, on our transportation panel.
Choosing to not publicly classify Bridj as the T's future competitor was a proper, tactical decision. The fact remains, however: Bridj could pose a serious threat to the Authority.
On Monday, Bridj will debut its first two bus routes, which will run between Coolidge Corner in Brookline, downtown Boston and Kendall. These beta routes will host the pop-up service's first 300 users, who, for the month of June, be allowed to board shuttles for free. Bridj will start charging $6 to $8 fares in July.
"Users will be part of something that's never been tried before," George said.
An earlier BostInno report by Gillis Bernard explains why:
Using walk time data, Bridj’s algorithm finds a central point – approximately five minutes away from all users – in a given location ... The routes are also user-generated. People sign up for Bridj online, and plug in their home and work ZIP codes. Combining user demand data with traffic patterns and key events, like a Red Sox game, sourced from social media and around the web, Bridj’s software adds and switches up routes in real-time.
In a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon, George reaffirmed plans to open up additional routes, "bolstered by user data," in the coming months. While he declined to go into much detail, he did say the "majority" of expanded services will operate in and around "Cambridge, the [Boston] downtown area and the Seaport."
Well, that's enough for BostInno to speculate. So, here's three routes that Bridj should consider rolling out:
Chelsea to South Boston
Though the the T has plans to extend the Silver Line to Chelsea by 2016, that's still two years away. Chelsea, in 2014, is already emerging as a lower-cost alternative for local, young professionals. For example, the average age of tenants living inside One North of Boston, the affordable luxury residential development across the highway, is 27 years old. With many tenants already working in the Seaport, Bridj likely wouldn't have a problem finding new users along the six-mile stretch from Chelsea to Southie.
North End to South Boston
This is biased, I admit. As a North End resident, getting to South Station, for instance, means walking to Haymarket Station, jumping on a Green Line, then transferring to the Red Line at Park Street. If service is delayed, what would have been a short, one-mile trip, suddenly turns into a 30-minute fiasco. Walking is a logical alternative, sure, but during inclement weather, or lugging luggage, who wants to do that?
Roslindale/Jamaica Plain to Downtown
Bostonians want the Orange Line extended in the other direction – out towards underserved areas, like Roslindale. However, the T has no such plans, even though Roslindale Village is hub of activity; it's also a 30-minute walk from the closest Orange Line stop, Forest Hills Station. Bridj could capitalize by opening a direct route from Roslindale Village to Downtown Crossing. Sound intriguing? We think so too. If you want to hear George talk more about Bridj – in addition to a host of other forward-looking transportation conversation, join us at BostInno's State of Innovation Forum.
