City of Salem RFP No. 27-12-TAP · launch-ready for October 1, 2026
The City’s rideshare —
built, running, and ready.
Salem Skipper isn’t a slide deck. It’s a working platform — rider app, driver app, and dispatch console — live today on this domain. Every screenshot on this page is the real product.
The demo runs all three roles — rider, driver, dispatch — with seeded data. No account needed.
For riders: book in under a minute
A phone-first web app — nothing to install, works on any device, and the phone line books for anyone without one.
- Pooled rides with a promised pickup window, plus live route-aware vehicle tracking
- Salem-only address autocomplete and door-to-door service for seniors and riders with disabilities
- Group booking with per-guest fares in one payment
- Pay by card (charged only when a driver is confirmed), prepaid credits, vouchers, or cash to the driver
- Guest booking with just a name and verified phone — no account, no app store
- “Talk to Skipper” voice booking with verbal confirmation, in English and Spanish
- Delay and cancellation notices in-app and by text, in the rider’s language
For drivers: safety built into the shift
Drivers get one console for the whole day — and the platform enforces the safety rules so nobody has to remember them.
- Daily DVIR-style vehicle inspection before service — a critical defect grounds the vehicle until repair
- Wheelchair-lift checks and failures handled per 49 CFR 37.163, automatically
- Duty clock with dispatch visibility; optimized stop order across pooled riders
- One-tap delay reporting that notifies affected riders instantly
- Rider-facing driver profiles — photo, experience, and a local touch
For the City: a live console, not a monthly PDF
Operations, reporting, and compliance in one place — with view-only accounts so City staff can watch the same board dispatch works from.
Live board. Fleet map, active trips, phone booking for riders without smartphones, and delay/cancel actions that notify riders immediately — targeting the RFP’s 20-minute advance-notice rule.
Monthly reporting, on demand. Trips, unique and new passengers, shared-ride share, wait times, complaints and resolution times, crashes, revenue miles — exportable to CSV any day of the month, not just at invoice time.
- Per-page staff access with view-only roles for City staff
- Complaint intake with a one-business-day investigation clock
- Rider roster import from City-shared data, claimed automatically at first sign-in
- Every fare, hour, and policy editable in Settings — no code changes
22 key stops, chosen like a transit planner would
The stop network is built around where transit-dependent residents actually need to go — not just where visitors do. Four principles picked these 22:
- Essential trips first. Groceries on Highland Ave, Salem Hospital, the Council on Aging, City Hall, and both Salem State campuses — the trips people without a car can’t skip.
- Every neighborhood covered. Residential anchors in The Point, North Street, Bridge Street Neck, and Boston Street put a stop within a short walk across all four service zones — downtown, north, south, and waterfront.
- Regional connection. Salem Depot ties every stop to the MBTA commuter rail — first- and last-mile to Boston without parking downtown.
- Parks and attractions too. The Common, Peabody Essex Museum, the Willows, and the waterfront keep the service useful for visitors and families — ridership that strengthens the system for everyone.
- Getting around & essentials
- Groceries, retail & neighborhoods
- Parks, waterfront & attractions
Getting around & essentials6 stops
- Salem Depot (MBTA Commuter Rail)
- Salem City Hall
- Salem Hospital
- Salem State University — Central Campus
- Salem State University — North Campus
- Community Life Center (Council on Aging)
Groceries, retail & neighborhoods9 stops
- Essex Street Pedestrian Mall
- The Point (Congress St)
- Shetland Park
- Highland Ave Shopping (Market Basket)
- Highland Ave Retail (Walmart)
- Vinnin Square
- North Street (Mason St)
- Bridge Street Neck
- Boston Street (Aborn St)
Parks, waterfront & attractions7 stops
- Salem Common
- Peabody Essex Museum
- Salem Willows Park
- Winter Island Park
- Gallows Hill Park
- Forest River Park
- Pickering Wharf / Waterfront
Riders aren’t limited to stops: seniors and riders with disabilities get door-to-door service at any Salem address. This is the preliminary list the RFP asks vendors to propose — we’ll refine it with City staff before launch, and the app, fares, and routing adjust with it.
See it for yourself — right now
The full three-role walkthrough is public. Open it on your phone and on your desktop, book a ride as a rider, run it as the driver, watch it as dispatch.