Empty buses and rising costs: Mobile turns to industry leader to reimagine bus system

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Latasha Lang, who rides the bus every day, says she generally finds it reliable.

As she waited for her bus to arrive on a recent day, though, she told FOX10 News that there’s always room for improvement.

“Sometimes, it be on time; sometimes, it don’t,” she said.

Lang offered a few suggestions.

“We need more buses and some good, nice bus drivers and everything,” she said.

Big changes are on the way. Soon, The Wave Transit System, as the service has been known for years, will be out. In its place will be new name chosen by city residents. But the changes will be more than cosmetic. Mobile last year hired a new company, Via Transportation, to help design a new system that relies heavily on technology to maximize efficiency.

The city solicited opinions from riders and non-riders alike. FOX10 News heard complaints ranging from taking too long to get from Point A to Point B, to limits on how late and how far the buses run.

Ridership actually has crept up over the last few years, from 438,985 in fiscal year 2022 to 611,326 in fiscal year 2025. But that is down from more than 836,000 in 2019, and buses often run empty or nearly so. Other riders take advantage of MoGo, a micro-transit system that mainly takes commuters from their homes to work. The new system is expected to expand that model.

Meanwhile, costs to city taxpayers have skyrocketed, from more than $4.9 million in fiscal year 2020 to $10 million in fiscal year 2025. The city’s $12.1 million contract with Via caps the city’s share at $8 million, with the rest coming from federal funds.

Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis said service already has improved.

“Previously, one in five buses did not run as scheduled,” he said. “Either they were late or the route was canceled. That number is approaching 0 percent right now with Via. So they’ve got to be reliable. You got to know one’s coming. And you can’t be waiting outside in the sun or the rain for an hour at a bus stop.”

Alex Lavoie, chief operating officer of Via Transportation, said his goal is to “build a world-class transit system in Mobile.” In the early going, he said, the company has been running the exact same system it inherited while it studies changes. But he added that there have been improvements.

“We’ve made some, I would say, some significant sort of operational improvements thus far, including ramping up driver hiring quite a bit, which has really helped improve on-time performance,” he said.

As Via Transportation makes changes, Lavoie said expanding MoGo likely will be a key strategy. Launched in 2024 with support from the Mobile Chamber and others, MoGo Rideshare was designed to work like Uber. Residents schedule rides, using an app. Until now, though, it largely has been limited to helping commuters get to work.

That service will be folded into the new service and will help solve what Lavoie calls the “last mile problem.” He said the challenge for all urban transportation systems is how to get people from bus stops to their final destination. Especially in less densely populated parts of the city, he said, it might make sense to rely more on micro-transit than fixed routes.

Montana Coleman, who said she rides the bus only when necessary, said that would be an improvement.

“I think they should probably make more stops with MoGo. you know, like more into the neighborhoods where people can’t really walk as much or can’t get through,’’ she said. “You have to walk a certain distance before you can get onto a bus. I think if they do MoGo, it might work a little better.”

COMING TUESDAY: How Mobile hopes to lure “choice riders” to its bus system.