Walworth County's Transportation Coordinating Committee on June 2 pressed its contracted operator, VIP Services, for answers about an increase in ride denials, operational efficiency and readiness of the new booking software before a planned rebranding and marketing push.

Jean (Transportation Manager) told the committee she and staff met with VIP on May 28 and asked the operator to provide an explanation for a recent rise in denials. "Our denials already almost through April are where we finished up last year," she said, and the committee recorded substantially more denials so far in 2025 than in the comparable period last year. Committee members said the service has available vehicle hours but appears to be underusing shared-ride capacity.

Committee members and staff raised several specific operational concerns: the program's trip ratio has fallen to about 1.06 (the committee wants 1.2 1.25), medical trips make up a disproportionate share of turndowns, and staff reported roughly 1,400 fewer rides during the first four months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. Jean said VIP had hired seven additional drivers and moved toward a roster of 46 drivers, but that staff want VIP to show how it will reduce turndowns before the planned marketing push.

Several members emphasized the connection between operations and advertising. Committee member Stacy Shepherd said she shared staff's goal to market the service but warned: "If I've had I called twice, I can't get a ride either time, that's it. I'm done." Jean said staff told VIP that the county cannot lead a rebranding launch if the provider will be turning down an elevated share of callers. The committee set an August window for launch but said readiness depends on VIP demonstrating improved operations.

The committee also discussed the new trip-booking software (referred to during the meeting as Qride/Bridal). Jean and staff said the new system is intended to produce more efficient shared rides by combining trip legs and giving schedulers more time to find matches; staff requested that Qride be tested and ready to include in the rebranding rollout. Jean said VIP indicated Qride would be ready for an August launch but agreed the operator should provide a status update at the next meeting and bring operational staff to answer questions.

Members also raised no-shows and cancellation patterns. Staff said the app's anticipated notification and reminder features could reduce same-day cancellations and no-shows by allowing riders to elect reminders several days in advance. Jean said staff will keep the issue on next month's agenda and asked VIP to return with data and operational fixes.

The committee did not take formal punitive action at the meeting, but members asked staff to demand answers from VIP and to re-agendize the item with VIP representatives present.