Resident tells Smith County court Tyler Transit microtransit changes left riders confused and stranded

David Zilmer, a resident, used the public participation portion of the Jan. 14 Smith County Commissioners Court meeting to report confusion and service disruptions he experienced with the Tyler Transit microtransit system.

Zilmer described arriving for a medical appointment and finding no scheduled buses; “there were no buses there and everybody was gathering around one bus and asking what's going on here and, is this the number 11 bus? No,” he said. He added that route numbers appeared to have been removed and that passengers missed stops they expected.

Zilmer said the changes left some riders fearful, including one woman he said “was on there crying because she was afraid she was gonna be arrested.” He urged the court to note the problem during the item that receives monthly reports from county departments; the court heard the monthly reports but took no formal action on transit during the meeting.

County staff did not announce specific follow-up action in the meeting transcript. The monthly reports item was listed as item 7; speakers indicated other monthly and annual reports would be brought forward in coming weeks.

Provenance: Zilmer’s remarks were made during the public participation segment and were recorded immediately before the court moved to the monthly reports item.