County staff report mixed transit ridership trends and plan provider transition for shared-ride taxi

Washington County staff told the Public Works Committee on Dec. 15 that transit ridership this year shows mixed signals: some months are slightly behind last year while the overall average and trips billed per hour suggest improved operational efficiency.

During review of ridership data, committee members observed month-to-month dips of roughly a hundred trips in some months but noted that average trips per hour were higher compared with the prior year, which staff said indicates greater efficiency despite fewer service hours billed last year. Speaker 1 said, “if you look at the trips billed per hour, that's static versus last year, but there's fewer hours last year,” a point the committee acknowledged as evidence of improved efficiency.

Staff also summarized ongoing shared-ride taxi initiatives: an RFP and competitive process for a new provider has concluded with a planned two-year base contract that will set a static hourly rate for dispatched service. Staff said they reduced contracted hours for next year based on current ridership data and have conducted public outreach — including website notices, in-vehicle notices and social media — and held a hiring event to recruit drivers. The transition tasks include arranging vehicle transfer dates and switching the call phone number to the new provider on Jan. 1.

Why it matters: changes to the shared-ride taxi provider and contract hours can affect service availability for riders who rely on demand-response transit, and the county is aligning contract hours to observed ridership to maintain efficiency.

Next steps: staff will monitor December ridership and report back in the next quarterly report; the new provider transition is scheduled to take effect in the new year with operational details finalized ahead of Jan. 1.

Source: Transit quarterly report and staff comments recorded at the Washington County Public Works Committee meeting on Dec. 15, 2025.