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Brownsville-Cameron County pilot to replace rural Route 30 with subsidized Uber service is tabled for more information
Summary
City of Brownsville staff proposed an 18-month pilot with Trips/Uber to replace fixed Route 30 bus service in a rural zone; the court asked for more information and voted to table the request with one abstention noted.
Cameron County Commissioners Court on Tuesday discussed a proposed pilot program to replace fixed-route transit service (Route 30) with a Trips/Uber subsidized on-demand service for a rural area east of the Brownsville airport. Presenters said the pilot would run up to 18 months, provide door-to-door trips in the defined geofenced zone, and allow the city and county to subsidize up to $10 per ride while passengers would pay $2, the same base fare as the fixed-route service.
Joel Garza, multimodal transportation director for the City of Brownsville, told the court the program would be a cost-saving experiment compared with the current Route 30 fixed schedule. He said the city and county would split the pilot cost; staff estimated a total pilot cost up to $30,000 for 12 months and asked the court to split that cost 50/50. Garza said the pilot would eliminate the existing Route 30 fixed service if implemented and provide a 1-800 call-in option for riders without smartphones. "They'll pull up the app, and the city and the county would subsidize up to $10 for that ride," Garza said.
Commissioners pressed staff on accessibility, language barriers and whether sufficient Uber drivers operate in the area. Brownsville staff said the vendor (Trips) has experience in other Texas cities and that the vendor and Uber data indicated sufficient driver capacity for the zone; staff also said ADA and paratransit needs would be coordinated with existing county services.
Several commissioners expressed concern about narrowing the subsidy to a single zone rather than offering countywide support, the potential for riders to use the subsidy outside the intended zone, and how the change would be publicized. One commissioner noted the current Route 30 averages roughly seven riders per day while costing about $111,000 annually; another commissioner said that if the pilot cost $30,000 and is unused it would be a savings.
After discussion the court voted to table the item to allow more local review and for city and county staff to provide additional information. Commissioner Benavides moved to table and Commissioner Lopez seconded. The court recorded one abstention before the motion passed.
