Birmingham on Demand Expansion Update

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Oct 25, 2022

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Birmingham will expand one of its newest and most popular public transport hubs. Today, the Mayor’s Office announced plans to expand the city’s Birmingham on Demand service to 19 neighborhoods east of the airport.

For the past three years, the city has operated on a trial basis in the city center and some western neighborhoods. But at Monday’s City Council transport committee meeting, the city announced the expansion, with people using Birmingham’s brand new express buses to cross the city.

Transportation Committee Chairman Darrell O’Quinn said the 19 new neighborhoods were chosen after the city reviewed demographic and transit authority data to determine where expansion might have the most benefit. impact. O’Quinn says it will be difficult to expand service north and south unless others step in.

“Parking isn’t free,” says O’Quinn. “It costs the employer to have to build facilities to accommodate parking. And then that cost is often passed on to the employee. And so the average employee of, say, you know, UAB pays hundreds of dollars a year to be able to park on campus.

O’Quinn says the city used $2 million from the U.S. bailout to budget for the expansion, but will have to find other sources of funding to support it. He expects residents on the east side of the city to be able to start using Birmingham on Demand in December.

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