College of Engineering, Community Partners to Launch 'Ride 4 Smilies' Program in Fort Smith

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The U of A College of Engineering, the city of Fort Smith, Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization and Tandem Mobility plan the official launch of Ride 4 Smilies, a research and community project funded by a $1 million National Science Foundation grant through the U of A College of Engineering. The event is scheduled for noon, Thursday, May 12, at Elm Grove Community Center, 1901 N. Greenwood Ave., in Fort Smith.

Researchers plan to test pricing and incentive strategies with the goal of developing a sustainable revenue model for continuing services after a pilot period. The project is being deployed in areas where 65 percent of residents report not having a vehicle or access to reliable public transportation.

The study is titled Shared Micromobility for Affordable-Accessible Housing.

Additional information is available at the project webpage.

Left to right: Vuban Chowdhury, civil engineering master’s student; Jeff Dingman, Fort Smith deputy director; Suman Mitra, civil engineering assistant professor; Anindya Debnath, civil engineering Ph.D. student; Doug Reinert, Fort Smith director of parks and recreation; Reese Brewer, Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization executive director; Stacy Willinger, Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization transportation planner; Elizabeth McClain, Arkansas Colleges of Health Education chief wellness officer; and Isaac Salazar, Arkansas Colleges of Health Education community outreach coordinator.