Board approves amended contract for Tri City Roadrunner to move to TripSpark Novus platform

The board voted to approve an amended contract enabling Tri City Roadrunner to transition from RouteMatch to TripSpark—s Novus platform with the company—s fixed-route module.

Joanne, a transit staff presenter, told commissioners the Novus product will combine demand-response and fixed-route functions into a single mobile app, add SMS and email notifications (not just phone calls), and reduce future transition risk because TripSpark is phasing support for RouteMatch. The state previously covered startup costs for approved vendor platforms; county staff said $65,000 in state funds would cover startup and hardware purchased under the state program. The county will need to cover on-site trainer costs estimated between $15,000 and $20,000. The five-year contract total quoted in materials was roughly $318,000; the county—s share after state reimbursements was described as approximately 10% plus training, putting the county—s net five-year cost in the roughly $50,000 neighborhood in discussion.

Board members asked about maintenance and monthly billing; staff said monthly service fees are included in the contract and will be billed incrementally and mostly reimbursed by the state. Commissioners voted to approve the amended contract; the board recorded three yes votes.

Why it matters: The software runs operations, rider notifications and vehicle scheduling. A single combined app and better notification options aim to reduce driver delays and improve rider communications; the county and state funding structure affects local net costs.

What commissioners decided: Approve the amended contract to transition to TripSpark Novus; staff will execute an amended agreement and schedule on-site training, funded from the county—s capital budget and state startup reimbursement.