Sunnyvale launches inexpensive ride-hailing service for residents

Sunnyvale residents can now literally get on board with one of the newest public transportation trends: hailing a ride with a local microtransit service.

City officials on Tuesday officially launched Sunnyvale Beam with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at City Hall, two weeks after the service quietly started operating. Through the Beam app or with a phone call, riders can be picked up anywhere in Sunnyvale and travel to any destination within the city. The all-electric vehicle service operates 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, with a cost of $3.50 per person per ride — though older adults, teens, low-income residents and people with disabilities get a lower rate of $1.75.

The service, which utilizes six Kia Nero SUVs and three Ford E-Transit vans, has provided 800 rides since Aug. 18.

“This is not us just adding another transportation service. It’s about expanding mobility,” Sunnyvale City Manager Tim Kirby said at the ceremony. “We’re giving the community a chance to make more affordable transportation choices and more opportunities to get where they need to go.”

Pick ups and drop offs are “corner to corner,” meaning riders might have a short walk to or from their location, although people in wheelchairs are transported door-to-door. Going slightly beyond city limits, Beam also serves Homestead High School in Cupertino and the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center.

Microtransit services such as Beam are publicly funded local alternatives to more costly private services such as Lyft, Uber and Waymo. The concept has already proved popular elsewhere in Santa Clara County, including Silicon Valley Hopper in Cupertino and Santa Clara, Palo Alto Link and Milpitas SMART. SV Hopper provided 103,468 rides last year across Cupertino and Santa Clara. Via, which runs SV Hopper and Palo Alto Link, is also running Sunnyvale Beam.

These services aim to protect the environment by closing the “last mile” gap between where people live or work and the nearest public transit stops, as well as providing an alternative to car ownership. Low fares make microtransit particularly appealing to older adults and high school students.

The flip side is that microtransit can be expensive. SV Hopper, which expanded into northern Santa Clara in July, spent an average of $32 for each individual ride in 2025, according to a Cupertino city report. The high cost can make microtransit, often supported by state and federal grants, unsustainable. Morgan Hill, for example, had to end its MoGo service in February 2025 for lack of funding.

Sunnyvale, however, has already built 20 years of funding for Beam into its municipal budget, including a state grant that will cover half the annual operating cost of $1.6 million for the first five years.

“In Sunnyvale, we don’t like to start services that we can’t sustain,” Kirby told San José Spotlight.

Sunnyvale dipped its toe into microtransit last year with Peery Park Rides, a pilot program with Via that primarily serves commuters at office parks in northwest Sunnyvale. Peery Park Rides is funded through February 2027 and the city is exploring options for the service to continue with private funding.

Residents who attended the kickoff were intrigued with Beam’s potential.

“I’m hoping it focuses on the needs of seniors,” Cindy Spencer, an active volunteer for older adults and emergency preparedness in Sunnyvale, told San José Spotlight. “The low cost (of rides) will help when they’ve had to give up their cars.”

Jim Van Pernis, a 45-year Sunnyvale resident, downloaded the Beam app two weeks ago and took a test ride on Tuesday. He plans on using the rack on the back of the Beam SUVs to take his bicycle from home to Caltrain’s Lawrence station for trips to Mountain View and San Francisco. He appreciates not having to drive to the station and worrying if he’ll find a parking spot.

“This will help, especially with the last mile,” Van Pernis, 81, told San José Spotlight.

Contact Mike Langberg at [email protected].