Ride the wave in Manhattan Beach.
The city has launched a new on-demand electric ride service, officials announced this week.
The Wave Rider, an all-electric, app-based shuttle for local trips, began on Thursday, June 4. The non-traditional shuttle has no fixed routes, stops or schedules, and instead is an app-based, Uber-like rideshare for local destinations.
It’s a pilot program with Circuit Transit, running for six months until the City Council decides whether to extend it.
Manhattan Beach launched its on-demand electric ride service, the Wave Rider, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The non-traditional shuttle has no fixed routes, stops or schedules, and instead is an app based, Uber-like rideshare for local destinations. (Courtesy City of Manhattan Beach)
Manhattan Beach launched its on-demand electric ride service, the Wave Rider, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The non-traditional shuttle has no fixed routes, stops or schedules, and instead is an app based, Uber-like rideshare for local destinations. (Courtesy City of Manhattan Beach)
Manhattan Beach launched its on-demand electric ride service, the Wave Rider, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The non-traditional shuttle has no fixed routes, stops or schedules, and instead is an app based, Uber-like rideshare for local destinations. (Courtesy City of Manhattan Beach)
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Manhattan Beach launched its on-demand electric ride service, the Wave Rider, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The non-traditional shuttle has no fixed routes, stops or schedules, and instead is an app based, Uber-like rideshare for local destinations. (Courtesy City of Manhattan Beach)
Rides cost $5 — but $2.50 for adults 55 and older — to and from anywhere in Manhattan Beach.
The City Council approved the micro-transit program in April to provide a technology-enabled, on-demand public transportation service using small multi-passenger electric shuttles.
“It’s from your home to where you want to go and back again,” according to city traffic engineer Erik Zandvliet. “There are shorter wait times, it’s app-based — similar to Uber and Lyft — and it’s less expensive.”
To schedule a ride, use the Circuit smartphone app when in Manhattan Beach, enter a destination anywhere in the city and wait for a driver. The flat $5 per-person fare covers the entire ride from point to point.
With a fleet of five electric vehicles, the ride service runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and from noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Two neighborhood electric vehicles will cover denser commercial areas west of Sepulveda Boulevard, with two sedans providing broader citywide coverage and one wheelchair-accessible van.
Rides must be within Manhattan Beach’s city limits, except for the Metro K Line Douglas Station in El Segundo.
Throughout the pilot program, Circuit Transit will provide the city with real-time ridership data, tracking peak demand times, popular origins and destinations, and rider demographics. That information will inform a staff report to the City Council before the end of the six-month trial period, when council members will decide whether to extend, modify or conclude the program.
Officials also touted it being rolled out ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to July 19. The city, according to a press release, anticipates the system being a key local transportation method among those crowds.