Hill Country Transit District reports ridership gains, shorter waits after system redesign

Hill Country Transit District General Manager Raymond Suarez told the City Council workshop that the transit agency’s year‑long overhaul has produced sharply improved on‑time performance, shorter waits and growing ridership across the region.

Suarez said the district replaced its fleet, redesigned routes to create a high‑frequency regional commuter spine, extended hours of service and integrated on‑demand trips with Uber and other providers to fill gaps. “For the record, I’m Raymond Suarez, the general manager of the Hill Country Transit District,” he said, and added the changes followed a 2021 consultant assessment and a 2023 strategic visioning process.

The changes matter because they aim to reverse declines in transit use and to make the system useful for more trip types, Suarez said. The district now runs about 14 hours a day (up from roughly 12), reports average waits of about 10–12 minutes on many services (versus roughly one hour under the prior design) and on‑time rates near 92–93 percent compared with about 60 percent previously. Suarez credited a new business intelligence platform,…