Buckeye council hears transit master‑plan update; city to pilot on‑demand rides with 48‑hour booking

John Wood, acting deputy director of transportation, presented an update on Buckeye’s transit master plan at the Oct. 7 council workshop, saying the city will post the draft plan for a 30‑day public review period and pursue a one‑year pilot of on‑demand service while collecting ridership data.

The pilot is intended to test microtransit and other service options, gather a year of trip data to support future grants, and expand short‑term services for older residents, people with disabilities, veterans and low‑income residents, Wood said.

The plan matters because Buckeye’s development pattern is low‑density and spread out, which limits the usefulness of traditional fixed routes and makes on‑demand solutions more feasible, Wood said. He told the council the pilot will let staff “start monitoring what this is and find out, is it working?”

Staff said work already completed includes an inventory of current services, a resident survey with 644 responses, and identification of potential short‑ and long‑term strategies. The survey results cited in the presentation found about 92% of lower‑income respondents indicated they need transit service and about 80% of higher‑income respondents said they would use a service if…