SouthPark Skipper takes off. Could microtransit like this work throughout Charlotte? (Charlotte Observer)
Across SouthPark’s commercial core you may see cars wrapped in baby blue picking people up a day of shopping at the mall, their hotel at Piedmont Town Center, or lunch at one of the many restaurants at Phillips Place.
These aren’t Ubers or Lyfts, but a fleet of Tesla Model Xs with swinging butterfly doors that are a part of SouthPark’s free microtransit service called the SouthPark Skipper. The program — currently in its pilot stage — launched last November under the direction of SouthPark Community Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to economic development in the neighborhood’s commercial core. The SouthPark Skipper has quickly amassed a large ridership — averaging between 4,000 and 5,000 rides a month. The program was birthed out of listening sessions with the community to help the nonprofit form its 2035 vision plan.
While the Skipper program has succeeded in SouthPark, transit advocates say the hyper-localized effort can’t be used as an indicator of how well microtransit will perform countywide if voters approve the tax this fall. Factors such as geographic footprint, cost and more set the Skipper apart. “It may be successful in this particular area where there’s very low residential folks, and they’re probably a little bit higher income. But it’s all about the business,” Eric Zaverl, an urban design specialist for Sustain Charlotte, said. “… It’s not by any means a representative of the rest of Charlotte.”