Washington County transit report shows May ridership drop as officials consider fares, hours and partnerships

Washington County transit staff reported a decline in ridership in May and rising cost-per-hour for the county transit system, and they told the Public Works Committee they are exploring a mix of responses including fare adjustments, shorter service hours and partnerships with outside shared-ride providers.

Transit staff (name not specified) said the county previously increased fares and shortened service hours this year and that staff have evaluated weekend ridership and other cost-saving options. “We continue to look at other options that would increase efficiency for transit,” the staff member said.

On fleet management, staff reported they evaluated multiple commercial fleet-tracking platforms and coordinated with the county IT team. After demonstrations and department discussions, staff are developing a customized internal application to centralize maintenance history, asset information, odometer tracking and preventive maintenance schedules without adding third-party licensing costs. A separate pilot “internal service fund” will create accounts and produce mock invoices to show departments how costs would appear, without actually billing departments during the trial period.

Staff also said they have contacted other transit providers and some shared-ride companies, including Uber and Lyft, to explore possible service integration or alternatives, though those conversations have not yet resulted in firm agreements.

Supervisors asked whether the fleet-tracking vendor vetting is complete; staff said the vetting of external options is complete but no purchase has been made and the county may continue in-house development. Committee members agreed staff should continue to monitor ridership, costs and pilot outcomes and report back as data develops.