Connect
To Top

Meet Lyndsy Morse

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyndsy Morse.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The ability to move is a universal human need. Mobility is not a car or a bus – it’s the feeling of freedom that comes from knowing you can move when and where you want.

Enhancing mobility is Via’s cause.

In 1979, Via, called Special Transit at the time, was born in a time of inspiration and dreams. The visionaries who worked diligently to found the organization surely had a belief in an inclusive community for all, regardless of age or disability.

This early aspiration continues to have a profound influence on the organization. Our beliefs and values arose from that hope, as did the way we provide service – with compassion, a commitment to serve, and the willingness to change to meet community needs.

Via helps our riders maintain their independence and self-sufficiency despite difficult, and often unpredictable, circumstances. We help those who do not drive, regardless of age or disability, access health care, shop for groceries, get to work, and participate in our community. We are not a government entity, and we don’t make a profit off of the services we provide.

Since our founding, Via has provided over 3.5 million trips! We could not have reached that milestone without the help of thousands of people like you.

Today, we continue to innovate and create new ways to help people overcome their mobility limitations, we focus on sustainable growth and minimizing our environmental impact, and we faithfully advocate for all people to have the opportunity to experience the essential human need for movement, inclusion and for feeling connected to something larger than themselves.

Via has grown considerably since its humble beginnings 40 years ago, but the dreams, beliefs, and values the organization was founded upon continuing to guide us as we explore new and sustainable ways to serve our community.

Has it been a smooth road?
Not always!

As many nonprofits experience, funding isn’t certain. We’ve had to innovate and make some changes along the way to become the organization we are today. While we’re a nonprofit, we operate on a social enterprise business model and we operate various contracts to be able to continue to operate our paratransit service.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Via Mobility Services story. Tell us more about it.
Via is a full-spectrum mobility manager offering paratransit, travel training and mobility options information and referral services. Via also provides a wide range of community and group educational resources related to transportation for older adults, people with disabilities and others living with mobility limitations.

Via operates on a social enterprise business model and serves the region by providing transportation programs including the HOP, Access-a-Ride, and FlexRide (formerly Call-N-Ride) under contract to local municipalities and the Regional Transportation District (RTD).

The quest for sustainability and new sources of revenue has led many nonprofits to consider social enterprise, generally defined as mission-related businesses that have promise for producing income benefiting the nonprofit’s clients or enhancing its ability to fulfill its mission.

The social enterprise business model challenges nonprofits to think in a more precise business frame of mind—but one that includes a commitment to the nonprofit’s mission and purpose.

Via has operated as a social enterprise business model for more than 20 years. Via’s three large earned-income contracts—the HOP, Access-a-Ride, and FlexRide (formerly Call-n-Ride) are revenue-generating transportation programs that provide significant financial support to Via’s core, mission services.

In 2014, Via’s earned income contracts generated more than $1 million in net revenue, which offset the operating losses of the paratransit, travel training, and mobility options information and referral programs.

As a nonprofit organization, Via ensures that all profits from the earned-income contracts are reinvested to enhance our mission services, to nurture the well-being of our organization, to reinforce our commitment to the communities we serve and to make our organization’s vision a reality.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Electric!

On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, Via celebrated the re-launch of HOP #15 – this 2004 bus was converted from diesel to electric through a partnership between Via and Lightning Systems.

This re-power is the first project of its kind, and this model provides an efficient and cost-effective alternative to replacing the entire HOP fleet with new electric vehicles, which would allow Via the option to electrify the fleet in 2 – 4 years. In contrast, purchasing and securing all new electric vehicles would take close to ten years, and the cost associated with electrification would increase threefold. The HOP, which connects CU, downtown and the 29th Street Mall, is a City of Boulder service operated by Via. The electrification of the HOP fleet will help Boulder reach its Climate Commitment goal of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050.

Earlier this year, HOP #15 had a broken engine and was destined for the landfill until Via connected with Lightning Systems, a global developer of zero-emission solutions for commercial fleets out of Loveland, CO. Lightning Systems created a design from the ground up to recycled the used 2004 bus into a zero-emission vehicle in a few short months for a fraction of the price of a new electric vehicle. This project has the potential to allow more organizations and municipalities to move from diesel or gasoline powered fleets to electric vehicles.

Over the past two years, Via has been working to make its 63rd Street facility more resilient. In 2016, Via was named Boulder’s first Resiliency Hub, leading to a partnership between Via, the City of Boulder, Boulder County and Pos-En, a sustainable engineering firm. Through grants provided by the City of Boulder and Boulder County, Via was able to purchase the solar battery storage and natural gas generator required for off-grid operation, allowing Via to operate independently of the larger utility system to sustain a sheltering facility during a wide-scale disruption.

The installation of this system, designed and built by Pos-En, was completed in early 2018. This project resulted in the creation of a micro-grid which utilizes multiple sources of energy including solar, a CNG generator, solar battery storage and standard electric grid feed designed to be flexible, scalable and adaptable. In early summer 2018, Via began installing additional solar panels and will continue to expand their solar array, utilizing the remaining space on the roof of their facility and other locations on their property. As technology improves and the price of solar, battery storage and other technology continue to fall, Via plans to seize opportunities to leverage sustainability through the growth of their renewable energy portfolio and investment in electric and other clean energy vehicles. Via’s ultimate goal is to have a fleet of zero-emission vehicles that are powered off-grid by renewable energy sources.

“We envision a future in which a resilient and robust community transit network uses electric and other clean energy vehicles to serve all of the transportation needs of our public, connecting individuals to the region as a whole through a system of local and regional transportation options,” said Frank Bruno, Via CEO. “Via has already positioned itself at the table, and in the coming years, we plan to be a leader in the effort towards a more equitable energy future.”

Pricing:

  • $5.00/trip in town
  • $10.00/trip town-to-town

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Darcy Kiefel World Photography

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in