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Washington County transit reports ridership dip in May, weighs cost-saving measures
Summary
Transit staff told the Public Works Committee that ridership fell in May, cost per service hour is rising, and the department is piloting internal fleet management tools, evaluating an internal service fund and exploring partnerships with other providers.
At the Washington County Public Works Committee meeting on 2025-06-18, transit staff reported a decline in ridership for May and described plans and pilots aimed at improving efficiency and controlling costs.
The committee heard that transit revenue and operating costs are under pressure: staff said ridership fell in May and that the cost per service hour continues to rise, outpacing inflation. Committee members and staff discussed possible responses including earlier fare increases, shortening service hours and other service adjustments.
The transit presenter said staff evaluated multiple fleet-tracking platforms and coordinated with IT on demonstrations. To avoid new licensing costs, staff are developing a customized internal application to centralize maintenance history, asset information, odometer tracking and preventive maintenance schedules. Development of that internal fleet-management application is underway.
Staff also described a pilot of an "internal service fund" run in shadow mode: the county would create accounts and generate mock invoices so departments can see prospective costs without being billed during the pilot.
On transit operations, staff said they have already raised fares in a prior committee action and have shortened service hours; they are also reviewing weekend ridership statistics and updated policies and procedures. Transit staff reported outreach to other providers and to gig-economy options such as Uber and Lyft, but said those conversations have produced limited results so far.
Supervisor Mikulik asked whether a line marked as completed in the report referred to completed vendor vetting; staff said the vetting phase is complete but no outside purchase has been made and the county may build an in-house solution.
Staff told the committee that absent further revenue increases, options to address rising per-hour costs would likely include additional fare increases or service reductions.
No formal committee action was taken on transit items at the meeting; staff will continue to evaluate options and report back.
