City County Transportation Plans App, New Software and Rebrand to Improve Keene Service
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Summary
City County Transportation officials told the Keene council ridership rose 8.4% in 2025 and outlined a relaunch with new Ecolane scheduling software, bilingual web/app booking, card payments, three new buses arriving in March–April, and a planned rebrand to increase access and reduce long hold times.
The general manager of City County Transportation briefed the Keene City Council on the regional curb-to-curb transit service, reporting an 8.4% increase in ridership and outlining plans to relaunch the service with a new scheduling platform and rebranding.
Arjan said the service — funded largely by the Federal Transit Administration via TxDOT and local participating cities — serves vital medical, employment and grocery trips, with 68% of trips attributed to elderly and disabled riders. He described performance gains in FY2025 and said Keene accounted for a modest share of growth. He noted 93.4% of cross-city trips to/from Keene were to Cleburne.
To reduce long call hold times (reported average 45 minutes to an hour), the service will implement Ecolane software with a bilingual phone/web portal and a rider app that will allow online booking, real-time bus-tracking, fare payment by card (replacing cash-only handling), and automated reminders. Arjan said three new buses were ordered and expected in March–April, and he asked for council support during the upcoming rebrand and public information campaign.
Council members asked about fares and trip costs; the manager said in-city trips are a $3 flat fare and longer cross-city trips charge $3 per five miles up to $15 each way. The manager asked the council to help publicize the relaunch to constituents.
