Morgantown updates transit access-pass pilot as social-service partners report distribution and activation problems

Maria Smith, executive director of Mountain Line, told Morgantown City Council on Feb. 18 that the city’s community access-pass pilot — a program that distributes one-time and multi-ride passes through social-service partners and city outlets — has shown early ridership but also operational problems that social-service agencies say are leaving some riders stranded.

Smith said about 1,200 passes have been provided to the city and that 538 trips had been recorded so far in the program’s initial months; she said the program had expended roughly $800 to date. Smith said the passes most often used were on Route 50 (Don Knotts) and that Don Knotts saw 6,734 trips in December and 5,103 trips in January on Mountain Line service, figures she offered while describing the program’s early performance.

The council heard multiple complaints from social-service providers and council members that the county-administered part of the program — which provides 15-ride cards and other multi-ride products through agencies — has introduced delays and high data-entry burdens. A Salvation Army…