NYC’s Shadow Transit Network Seeks a Greener Future
A $10 million grant will help the startup Dollaride electrify its fleet of dollar vans, which shuttle thousands of commuters living far from bus or subway stops.
A familiar sight on the streets of New York: a dollar van on the move.
Photographer: THEPALMER/iStockphoto via Getty Images
They’ve been called New York’s “shadow transit network,” a fleet of vans, sometimes outfitted with sound systems, flags and concert ads, that form key links between immigrant communities and jobs for tens of thousands of riders.
These dollar vans, which have been in existence since the 1980s, are American spins on the informal van lines that criss-cross many of the world’s metropolises, colorful grassroots transit networks such as the jeepneys of the Philippines, Colombia’s rural chivas, and the tuk-tuks found across Asia. Some provide “last mile” rides to the nearest bus or subway stop; others ply regular routes to distant job centers from neighborhoods that aren’t well served by traditional public transportation.