Presiding officer (Speaker 1) opened the Nov. 13 meeting of the McLennan County Rural Transit District Board and invited a ridership and trends presentation covering 2015–2025. Transit staff (Speaker 3) told the board the district began service July 1, 2015, and that the data come from annual PTN submissions to the Texas Department of Transportation.

"This is just gonna show you specifically, the ridership numbers from 2020 when COVID came in," Transit staff (Speaker 3) said, framing the presentation as a decade-long comparison. Staff separated demand-response and commuter-route figures, showing commuter ridership peaked in 2018 (about 35,000 trips on several lines) and then fell sharply after 2019; the presenter attributed the steepest drops to the loss of service into Falls County in October 2023 and to COVID-era behavior changes.

Board members asked for specifics about intercounty and Medicaid-funded medical trips. Transit staff explained that Medicaid trips must originate in McLennan County for the district’s vehicles to carry the trip and that subscription scheduling and coordination with social workers typically handle long medical appointments such as dialysis.

Several board members said the elimination of the Marlin/Falls County leg and loss of student ridership to higher-education destinations accounted for a large share of the decline. "When we lost that Marlin ridership, but they did not pick it up, it cut in half," Transit staff (Speaker 3) said. Board members and staff also cited remote work and ride-hail competition as contributing factors.

To regain riders, staff proposed a service-extension pilot to China Spring, McGregor and Marlin, designed to improve connections to the Amtrak station and to run during the summer; the presenter said staff will collect November–December data and provide initial findings in January. Staff described outreach already underway, including school presentations, travel training, door-to-door flyers at low-income housing, magnets on apartment units and targeted contact with community organizations.

The board voted to accept the ridership presentation (motion moved and seconded; voice vote 'Aye').

Votes at a glance: Approval of Oct. 23, 2025 minutes — motion moved and seconded; voice vote passed. Acceptance of the ridership presentation — motion moved and seconded; voice vote passed.

The board asked staff to report back with specific outreach activities and early performance metrics when the service-extension pilot data are available.