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Balch Springs EDC approves $165,000 annual allocation for Star Transit public transportation
Summary
The Balch Springs EDC (Type B) unanimously approved up to $165,000 in funding for Star Transit service for fiscal year 2025–26 and heard a presentation on ridership, fares and a same‑day service integrated with UberX.
The Balch Springs Community and Economic Development Corporation (Type B) voted July 9 to provide up to $165,000 in funding to Star Transit for public transportation services in fiscal year 2025–26.
Star Transit Executive Director Tommy Henricks and Transportation Director Antonio Harris presented service data and the FY2026 budget request. Star Transit operates demand-response and fixed-route services in the region; staff said the agency provided about 21,052 trips in 2024 and reported 524 unique riders in Balch Springs in the most recent year. Staff reported an on-time performance of 89% and said customer reviews were 99% positive.
Henricks and Harris described a same-day on‑demand service branded as Star Now that integrates with UberX to reduce wait times. The agency explained that riders schedule through Star Transit’s call center or app; when customers have agreed to Uber integration and Star Transit’s vehicles would exceed a set wait threshold, the scheduling software can automatically dispatch an UberX vehicle. Star Transit reported that wait times fell from roughly 24 minutes to about 16–17 minutes after integrating UberX and that monthly trips on the same-day service increased from roughly 390 to over 500.
The board asked technical and budget questions. Staff said the Star Transit board sets an hourly cost-per-hour that factors operating expenses such as salaries, fuel, and vehicle maintenance; that rate changed modestly for FY2026 and accounts for the city portion rising from $159,000 to the requested $167,000 in the agency’s slide deck. City staff said the request to Balch Springs is $165,000 for the year.
Director Wanda Adams moved to approve the funding, Director Helen Shelby seconded, and the board voted unanimously in favor. Staff said the requested funds will support demand‑response rides, Star Now same‑day service (including a capped Uber integration), and the fixed-route Midtown Express service in the Balch Springs service area.
Ending: Staff said they will continue to market the Star Now service locally and return with program updates and monthly performance metrics as requested by the board.
