McKinney transit staff reports rising ridership, CARES Act balance and fare changes

McKinney transit staff reported a steady rise in ridership and a significant increase in farebox revenue after adopting a distance-based fare, and they said the program still retains several million dollars in CARES Act funds for future operations.

The update given to the MUTD board on transit operations covered service eligibility and geography, performance indicators including wait times and cancellations, fare changes implemented in February, and the remaining CARES Act balance the program expects to use over coming fiscal years.

Staff said the transit program serves residents of McKinney, Melissa, Princeton, Prosper, Celina and Lowry Crossing and covers about 886 square miles. Ryan McCutcheon, project manager in the service planning and scheduling department at Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), said the program’s eligibility is limited to seniors 65 and older, riders with disabilities, and low-income riders.

McCutcheon described ridership growth: average weekday riders rose from about 102 in 2022 to about 286 in 2025. He said unique riders averaged about 410 last calendar year and about 453 so far this year. He also reported total rides in April at roughly 7,241.

"Our average wait time is about 10 minutes," McCutcheon said, and he added that travel distance per trip has remained roughly 7 to 8 miles. He told the board cancellations and no-shows have declined and that bookings occur via the call center, the GoPass app and an artificial-intelligence chatbot that first attempts to schedule trips before transferring callers to agents.

Staff reviewed a fare change that took effect in February moving from a flat fare to a distance-based structure: trips up to 7 miles are $5; each mile beyond 7 adds $0.75 with a cap at 23 miles, making a maximum fare of $17 per trip. McCutcheon said the change coincided with a roughly 90% increase in farebox revenue and a slight rise in average monthly ridership.

He explained that DART retains farebox revenue and then provides MUTD with that revenue as a credit. McCutcheon also described a partnership with the Samaritan Inn, saying a recent survey of program users found 80% reported securing jobs with access to the service, 70% reported attending medical appointments, and "9 in 10 of our customers say they would not be able to maintain employment but for this mayor's task force program."

On funding, transit staff said the program was originally awarded $8,800,000 in CARES Act funding, has about $6,100,000 remaining, and projects spending $1,380,000 in FY 2025, leaving an anticipated balance of about $4,700,000 to carry forward. Miss Stillwell (transit staff) told the board staff will share an update on projected member-city contributions for FY26 and that staff are exploring methods to apportion costs fairly while reducing reliance on CARES Act funds and increasing local contributions.

Board members asked whether a regional mapping change under discussion with the Council of Governments (COG) — including how Frisco is treated in the service zone — would affect FY26 allocations. Staff said the zone discussions are ongoing with the COG and do not yet have a start date, and they did not expect changes to apply in FY26.

Staff noted some riders have additional fare support from partner organizations; McCutcheon said Samaritan Inn is currently the primary partner providing fare assistance. Board members and staff characterized the program as helping residents reach jobs and medical care and reducing barriers to employment for frequent users.

The presentation concluded with staff saying they will continue to refine FY26 contribution calculations and report back when zone or allocation changes are finalized.