Anne Arundel county in Maryland is to start an on-demand transportation pilot this spring with help from Massachusetts-based TRC.

Anne Arundel County Office of Transportation (AA OOT) has contracted TRC to conduct a six-month, three-vehicle on-demand transportation pilot, anticipated to launch in early spring 2023.

The partnership will see AA OOT become the first transit agency in the state of Maryland to deploy this patented technology. The office of transportation provides local service and regional transit connections throughout Anne Arundel county, home to half a million residents, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Maryland’s state capital Annapolis.

TRC (The Routing Company) aims to work with AA OOT to help improve the convenience and accessibility of its on-demand services by routing SouthCounty Call-n-Ride reservations through the Pingo app. AA OOT expects the service partnership will also enhance connectivity and access to its existing fixed-route bus service.

“We are proud to partner with TRC to strengthen the multi-modal transportation networks throughout Anne Arundel county,” said Samuel Snead, director of transportation at AA OOT. “This seamless, integrated mix of fixed-route and on-demand transit options will provide the necessary infrastructure to support Anne Arundel county as an inclusive and economically vibrant community.”

AA OOT will leverage the full TRC Pingo suite, including Transit Connect, which guarantees connections to fixed routes for riders, operations and management tool Pingo Dashboard, and Pingo Journey.

Pingo Journey allows riders to book on-demand rides and plan end-to-end journeys on other modes of transportation, all within the Ride Pingo app.

Throughout the partnership, TRC will provide AA OOT with full-service reporting and configuration, testing, driver and fleet operator training, and hardware.

“We’re thrilled to partner with our ninth transit agency in the USA and power affordable and accessible transportation for the residents of Anne Arundel county,” said James Cox, chief executive officer at TRC. “Launching our first deployment in the state of Maryland is a huge step forward, but we’re even more thrilled to be providing an equitable way of moving to the residents of this sprawling community.”

Founded by MIT researchers and rideshare industry veterans, TRC is an on-demand vehicle routing and management platform that partners with cities to power public transit. Leveraging proprietary artificial intelligence, TRC delivers routing from multiple points of demand to one vehicle while enabling greater transit equity, accessibility, cost efficiency and sustainability. With a team spanning eight countries, TRC directly supports international operations and customer growth through hubs in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, Netherlands, UK and USA.