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Director outlines ridership push, new Benton Harbor High School stop; mobility RFP extended to Oct. 3
Summary
Board heard a director’s update that outlined a ridership strategy including a new blue-route flex stop at Benton Harbor High School, progress on RFPs for a mobility operator (deadline moved to Oct. 3), building maintenance needs, and a note that state and federal payment timing may be delayed.
The board received a director’s update describing plans to increase ridership, a proposed new stop at Benton Harbor High School and an updated schedule for the mobility operations request for proposals (RFP). The director also reviewed planned repairs to facility stairs and bay doors, noted continued consultant support from Transpro, and warned that state and federal payment timelines remain uncertain.
The presenter (identified in the meeting transcript as the director-level presenter) said the agency’s revenue was up while ridership had not increased, and that the agency would “really look at what we can do to increase ridership.” As one early step, the presenter said the agency will “establish this blue route, flex stop at Benton Harbor High School” located “in the circle” and expected to serve students as well as parents, employees and other paying passengers.
On procurement, the director said the mobility operations RFP remains open and the due date was extended to Oct. 3 after proposers requested more time and the agency received “well over a 100 questions.” The presenter described an “aggressive schedule” for selecting a new mobility partner and noted that Transpro, a consulting firm, has assisted in identifying potential partners.
The director also described facility work: an RFP for building siding that attracted no bidders and a separate set of bids to replace exterior stairs (the presenter said there were three bids and the work appears likely to go forward, probably with a local contractor). The agency reported plans to automate the garage bay doors within about 60 days to avoid leaving doors open in cold months and to reduce energy loss.
Staff discussed vehicle fuel choices. The fuel report showed propane costs per gallon lower than gasoline, but staff cautioned about maintenance tradeoffs: “Might save on gas, but lose all that when you need to fix them,” the fuel presenter said, noting more maintenance issues with the agency’s propane vehicles compared with gas vehicles.
The director noted ongoing discussions about broader transit consolidation with “Bexar County Transit” and said the office of passenger transit was coordinating a call to discuss the possible government shutdown on Oct. 1. The presenter said an LBO (likely a state payment/document) will be late regardless of a shutdown: “our LBO will be late … It's been pushed back so much that we should just expect it will be late,” the presenter said, adding that state payments could be delayed and that the board would learn more in coming days.
Public comment: A representative who identified themselves as from MTN Transit and said they were from St. Louis, Missouri, said their team toured the service area and expressed interest in submitting a proposal in response to the mobility RFP.
Ending: The board closed public comment and moved to adjourn after brief additional procedural items.
