McRide paratransit posts 99% on‑time rate; college officials say scheduling rules limit student access

McRide paratransit staff reported the service has been running reliably: on‑time performance measured by a 31‑minute threshold has exceeded 99% across the prior four months, and monthly ridership ranged from about 6,600 to 7,200 trips, a PACE Paratransit manager said at a McHenry County transportation committee meeting.

The report, delivered during an update on the McRide/McBride program, included heat maps showing concentrated trip origins and destinations in Woodstock, McHenry and Crystal Lake. The presenter said the maps use different zoom levels for Connect (regional) and McRide (county) data and noted that trip counts shown reflect completed rides, not denials.

Why it matters: committee members said the numbers show the service functions well operationally but does not by itself guarantee equitable access. Talia Kronkowitz of McHenry Town College told the group that many students do not meet the program’s priority criteria and therefore can only book two days in advance, which she said makes it harder for students to secure rides to campus or jobs. “We have 4,000 students,” Kronkowitz said, describing scattered student housing and limited fixed‑route connections.

PACE and paratransit staff explained a technical rule in the intergovernmental agreement: a trip may start or end at an outside “point destination” only if the ride either begins or terminates inside the McHenry County zone, so trips that both start and end outside the county (for example, Barrington Metro to Advocate Hospital) are not eligible unless routed to a permitted origin or destination inside the county.

Committee members asked whether the program could treat very short errands (prescription pickups, quick stops) as a second stop rather than a separate ride; staff cautioned that operator scheduling and the presence of other passengers mean short stops are not always feasible as single‑vehicle waits. The group also discussed potential changes to eligibility: county staff recalled that the county board previously directed DOT to use easily verifiable criteria such as age and disability, rather than income verification, to minimize administrative burden. “The direction was keep it simple,” the DOT assistant director said; staff added the committee could recommend a reprioritization to the county board if members prefer income‑based thresholds.

PACE’s community relations liaison offered to partner with colleges and school districts on outreach and ‘train the trainer’ sessions so students and counselors better understand fixed‑route and paratransit options and booking rules. Committee members asked staff to place prioritization and student‑access concerns on a future agenda so the group can scope any recommended changes and identify data needed to measure demand and denials.

The committee did not vote on policy changes at the meeting; members recorded a motion to add the topic to a future agenda and to follow up with more detailed data and options.