McLennan County Rural Transit District staff reported that the agency provided 12,401 trips through May of the current fiscal year, introduced new scheduling analytics and a mobile booking app, and said it will request a grant amendment from the Texas Department of Transportation to change hours on the China Spring–Crawford commuter shuttle to better match local demand.

Operations manager Serena (last name not specified in transcript) presented ridership and service data at the Aug. 7, 2025 board meeting. She said the district recorded 9,394 demand‑response trips through May; 281 trips on a parole shuttle; 552 Medicaid trips used as local match; and 2,174 contracted trips provided for Central Texas Senior Ministries, totaling 12,401 trips. Serena told the board that commuter shuttle service recorded 4,866 trips through May for the fiscal year.

Serena introduced a new scheduling and analytics platform, identified in the transcript as Spare, which the district began using on Feb. 18. She said the platform provides month‑by‑month booking and completion counts and operational metrics; “an average travel distance is about 19 miles one way. The duration runs about 36 minutes,” she told the board. The system logs when no drivers are available; Serena reported 33 “no drivers available” instances from Feb. 18 through May 31 and said supervisors and dispatchers are used to augment capacity when demand requires it.

The district also reported that 84% of trips are still booked by scheduling staff while 15.82% are scheduled via the mobile app; staff said older passengers tend to book by phone while students and employers are likelier to use the app. Serena said the district’s new online employee portal, Trackstar, has increased applications and helped retention; she also said training for new operators remains six to eight weeks because of safety requirements.

On routes, Serena said early mail surveys for the new China Spring–Crawford shuttle showed community interest but current ridership is below the grant “burn rate.” She said staff will seek a grant amendment from TxDOT to change service hours to better accommodate high‑school students and employers, and would present the revised plan to the board if TxDOT approves the amendment.

On financials, staff told the board the district is funded primarily by federal and state grants managed through TxDOT and the Federal Transit Administration, with some local match coming from Medicaid reimbursement, advertising and scheduling fees. Staff noted a recent vehicle purchase was charged to capital accounts and that some maintenance and equipment costs appearing over budget were covered by grant funds; the transcript does not state a precise dollar amount for the vehicle purchase. The board approved the operations report and the financial report for recording purposes and ratified annual certifications and assurances required by TxDOT and the FTA.

Board members asked about cancellations and no‑shows; staff explained the scheduling system records a single cancellation/no‑show designation but does not capture detailed passenger reasons for cancellations. Staff said some cancellations reflect passengers finding alternate transportation or changing plans; no systematic wait‑time explanation was recorded in the dataset presented.

Staff said they will return with details if TxDOT approves the proposed grant amendment for the China Spring–Crawford shuttle. The board set a tentative additional meeting for late October to complete the quarterly meeting schedule.