County STS launches one-year fare-free pilot and new mobile app; staff reports about 400 downloads

At the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting, staff confirmed STS has begun a one‑year fare‑free pilot that runs through the coming fiscal year. "As of right now, it's a 1 year pilot program," a staff member said, adding county commissioners will decide near the start of FY27 whether to extend or make the change permanent.

Ron Burpos, the new STS supervisor, told the committee the fare‑free policy applies across services and said the agency expects the change to increase ridership. Burpos said some routes have seen ridership grow by "probably a third" while other routes show no change yet. He said the agency cannot use operating funds as capital and that federal rules limit charging ADA paratransit if fixed‑route service is free.

Staff also described the newly launched STS app. Burpos said the app rolled out in June and that IT has already pushed one software upgrade; staff reported about 400 downloads ("roughly around 400 downloads of the app," including about 250 on Android and 150 on Apple). The app displays route color coding, next‑bus times and the next three stops for a selected vehicle. Staff said QR codes are already on buses and that the agency plans public information boards with route maps and QR codes at shelters in English and Spanish.

Committee members encouraged broader publicity; staff said the public information office will post announcements, and that dispatchers are directing callers to download the app. Staff invited committee feedback on functionality and said the app includes a feedback feature that routes comments to county IT.