BEVERLY — A popular on-demand Salem ridesharing service is expanding into Beverly and Danvers.
The Salem Skipper, which began in 2020, is scheduled to be available in Beverly and Danvers starting next month.
The on-demand service already enables people to book a ride on their phone to and from anywhere in Salem, and now will expand to certain areas of Beverly and Danvers. The cost is $2 per ride or $1 for seniors, middle and high school students, and people with disabilities.
“I’m hopeful that it’s successful,” David Kucharsky, the director of traffic and parking for Salem, said of the expansion. “The demand has been increasing since we launched the service in 2020. This to me is the next step.”
The expansion came about thanks to a $2.3 million federal grant awarded to the city of Salem last year to pilot an extension of the program. The three communities will also pay a share of the costs.
To use the service, people can download the Salem Skipper app and book a ride by entering their pickup and drop-off addresses. The app will display a pickup spot, which is usually a nearby corner or a short walk from the address entered, according to a description of the service on the city of Salem website.
A van run by a private company will pick up the rider “usually … within a few minutes,” according to the website.
Salem Skipper is intended to work like an Uber or a Lyft, but at a price similar to taking an MBTA bus, Kucharsky said.
While the service is available throughout all of Salem, the expansion into Beverly and Danvers will include only specifically targeted areas of high employment or commercial activity.
In Beverly, those areas are the Cherry Hill business park, Folly Hill/Trask Lane, Cummings Center, Beverly Hospital, the North Shore Crossing shopping plaza, and the entire downtown area.
In Danvers, the shuttle will serve the downtown, the Endicott Street/Mass. General Outpatient Care area, Cherry Hill business park, and North Shore Community College/Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School areas.
The hours are also more limited than in Salem, with the service ending at 7 p.m. in Beverly and Danvers.
In a letter to the Beverly City Council in support of the service, Axcelis Technologies Vice President Steven Roberge said company employees who live in Boston or other areas will be able to take the commuter rail to the Beverly train depot, and then hop on the Salem Skipper for “last-mile” service to its worksite in Cherry Hill.
“We believe that economic development is inextricably tied to transportation and our efforts to attract talent to the suburbs would be enhanced thanks to approval of a permanent Regional On Demand Rideshare service and the commuter options and programs available for our employees,” Roberge wrote.
The Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce and Beverly Main Streets also submitted letters in support of bringing the service to Beverly. In its letter, the Chamber of Commerce said the business community continues to struggle finding employees since the pandemic because many don’t own cars and the cost of living has significantly increased.
“The ‘Skipper’ rideshare program may serve as a viable solution toward filling this void …” Chamber President Medley Long and Executive Director Leslie Gould wrote.
Supporters said the service can help students get to local colleges such as Salem State University and North Shore Community College; assist seniors and people with disabilities who are at risk of social isolation; and reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gases.
Salem Skipper has provided over 231,000 rides since its debut in December 2020, including a one-week high of 23,054 and a one-day high of 458. The service has been heavily used by residents of the low- and moderate-income Point neighborhood, where over 24% of the residents don’t own a car, Kurcharsy said.
The expansion to Beverly and Danvers is a two-year pilot program. Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said its continuation beyond that will be subject to funding from the state and/or federal government.
“This is really about the three communities trying to prove it out,” he said.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.