SHERWOOD, Ark. — Getting around town just got a bit easier for people in the city of Sherwood.
Earlier this week, Rock Region Metro launched a new public transportation service to help those without easy access to a car.
"What it is is on-demand, point-to-point service within the zone," explained Becca Green with Rock Region Metro.
That zone she referred to is one that covers most of Sherwood. Green also said that in its first week, Metro Connect Sherwood has already given more than 50 rides.
"We expect that number to go up, of course, and we're kind of monitoring it right now to just see how that goes. And you know, at some point, hopefully, we'll have enough people using it to where it warrants either more vehicles or maybe interest in that commuter route to connect back to the regional network," Green described.
Rock Region previously offered public transportation in Sherwood that helped people get out of the city, but that stopped in 2020.
"The difference now is that you have this within the city. Circulator service, essentially, it's a shared ride, ride-hailing on-demand service," she said.
Access to the service all starts with downloading the Rock Region Metro app.
"You can book a ride from any point within Sherwood to any other point. It's Monday through Saturday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. so anytime in that time frame, you'll pull up the map. It'll say what's the pickup location," Green explained.
You then type in your drop-off location and it will search for a ride for you and tell you how many minutes it will take to arrive.
"When the vehicle arrives, you pay your fare, which you can pay with exact change. It's $2 per person per trip, so you can either use two $1 bills, or you can download the free token transit app and pay for it that way with a one-way Sherwood pass," she said.
Green also said Rock Region has a similar transportation service in Conway and its been gaining popularity since it launched two years ago.
Heather Jenkins with the city of Sherwood said it's going to benefit a lot of people in town.
"Economically, this is a great thing for the city, because people can get to and from shopping. They can get to and from work, for health reasons, and they can get to and from their doctor," Jenkins described. "We really think it's going to be a great way for people to stay connected and just really grow this community even more than it already is."
You can find the Metro Connect zone map for Sherwood by clicking here.