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Council prefunds two transit pilots: $250,000 for microtransit feasibility pilot and $250,000 for downtown connector circulator
Summary
On May 27 the Budget Committee of the Whole approved two prefunded transit pilots: $250,000 for a Lextran microtransit demonstration and $250,000 for a downtown connector circulator pilot.
On May 27 the Budget Committee of the Whole approved two separate, council‑sponsored prefunding requests to test alternative transit services in Lexington.
Microtransit pilot: Council Member Ellinger moved to prefund a Lextran microtransit pilot at $250,000 and the committee approved the request. Ellinger said Lextran has completed a feasibility study that will be presented to council in June and that the pilot funds would help move from study to a field demonstration focused on filling gaps in fixed‑route service, especially for riders accessing jobs, health care, pharmacies and groceries. Lextran representatives told the committee the feasibility study will be presented to the Lextran board and to council in June and that timelines for a pilot depend on funding and procurement; they described the likely procurement as a turnkey RFP for a contractor to operate the service.
Downtown connector circulator pilot: Council Member Brown presented a $250,000 request for a downtown circulator route connecting the warehouse/district and the distillery district to improve evening and late‑night circulation downtown. Lextran staff described an anticipated vehicle type (cutaway vehicles), a proposed service window in concentrated activity hours and a pilot that would run for the summer season if funded. Council members and VisitLex and other stakeholders provided input during earlier planning, and Lextran said it had identified capital match funding through Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) sources for vehicle purchases; agencies also said the vehicles could be used for other revenue service outside pilot hours.
Council and Lextran discussed scale and timeline. Lextran staff said a fully robust microtransit pilot in other cities often ranges from roughly $700,000 to $1,000,000, but a smaller, narrowly scoped demonstration can be tailored to a smaller budget. For the downtown connector, staff said $250,000 would allow a summer pilot of limited days/hours and that capital match for vehicles had been pursued through MPO programming.
Both motions were approved on voice votes during the meeting; the transcript records the motions as carried. Council members said they expect to use results from the pilots and the final microtransit feasibility presentation to inform FY27 budget planning and potential grant matches.
Why it matters: both pilots are intended to test demand and operating models for flexible and circulator services that could increase transit access in areas with limited fixed‑route coverage and support downtown economic activity. The pilots also aim to provide operational data to guide further investment decisions.
