Peery Park Rides, a new free ride-share service for north Sunnyvale, unveiled at an official launch ceremony held at the Synopsys headquarters on March 4.
By downloading the Peery Park Rides app, riders can order a shared shuttle ride in the northwest Sunnyvale region, with expected wait times of 10 to 20 minutes as the pilot takes off.
“This is really… helping us meet Sunnyvale’s long-term environmental goals,” said Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein. “Today, we are not only launching a shuttle, we are launching a commitment to a more connected, more vibrant and more sustainable Sunnyvale.”
The project was originally planned to launch in 2020, but the city pushed it back because of COVID-19. Designed to service the Peery Park business district, the free shuttle service region is bounded by the U.S. 101 freeway to the north, Fair Oaks Avenue to the east, El Camino Real to the south and the city of Mountain View to the west.
The service connects city hotspots, including downtown Sunnyvale, the Columbia Neighborhood Center in the north and El Camino Real in the south. The two-year pilot program began on Feb. 11, with the possibility of continuation contingent on the level of demand for the service.
The ride-hailing program targets Sunnyvale’s emission reduction goals under its Climate Action Plan, as well as reducing traffic congestion and noise levels in the area.
“The best part of the program is the connectivity it will provide to other places in the city for services and food … offering more to our residents and employees alike,” said Carlene Matchniff, vice president of entitlements and government affairs for the Irvine Company, which manages Peery Park business district property.
The project was a joint effort between the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Sunnyvale using Via Transportation’s app-based ride-hailing network.
VTA supplied $1.1 million to the project after obtaining a climate action grant through a competitive bidding process by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. According to the MTC, their $2 billion annual investment funding funnels towards improving the Bay Area’s transportation network.
The Sunnyvale Community Benefit Fund, a collection that is pooled together by developers for ongoing infrastructure improvements, contributed $400,000. Sunnyvale city council matched this, adding on an extra $100,000 to ensure it would be fare-free for riders.
The Irvine Company is expected to form a transportation management association, which will take over future development for the program.
“(The TMA) will help guide other transportation demand management programs. So they will help determine if the shuttle service will continue past its two-year pilot,” said Jennifer Garnett, Sunnyvale public information officer.
Garnett said that though the hope is that property managers will independently take over the program, she would not rule out further government funding past the two-year trial.
Potential users can expect the platform to function just like another Via service — Silicon Valley Hopper, the ride-hailing app primarily covering Santa Clara City and Cupertino — except at no cost.
Each Via app operates exclusively for its respective area, so a rider using Hopper would not be able to hail a shuttle to a location within the bounds of the Peery Park service despite the neighboring proximity of the service regions.
Krista Glotzbach, vice president of partnerships for Via, said that Via hopes to connect the disjointed Via-serviced areas. Ultimately, Sunnyvale and the VTA have the final say.
“It’s not hard to merge the service. It’s just more what’s best for the community,” Glotzbach said. “From a technology and vehicle standpoint, it’s seamless.”
In a speech to fellow city officials and project team members, Klein said. “Getting us to this point has been a great collaboration between the city, our shuttle service, Via and VTA. Ultimately, this is one step toward a citywide shuttle.”
