Mobile GR outlines transit access funding plan, schedules public meetings to guide Dash pilot decisions

Andrea Riley, the city’s community engagement manager, told the Mobile GR Commission that staff will launch a Transit Access Funding Plan to re-evaluate how parking revenues support the downtown Dash pilot and broader transit access across Grand Rapids. The plan centers community engagement — an online survey and three public meetings (one per ward) — paired with operational and ridership data to set investment priorities.

Riley said the outreach will ask residents to evaluate trade-offs such as cost (including whether service should be free), route frequency and geographic focus, and who should be prioritized as primary riders. "We are going to pair community insights and preferences with our operational and ridership data to better understand our mobility needs across all neighborhoods and to establish clear priorities for investment," Riley said.

Jessica, the Mobile GR director, told commissioners the Dash pilot changed on May 1 — frequency was increased while the route length was shortened — and that initial month-to-month ridership comparisons should be interpreted with care. Staff cited the 2025 ridership survey showing high safety and satisfaction (96% of surveyed riders felt safe on the Dash) while also noting that ridership numbers need to be normalized for fewer service hours. Planning staff added that some riders shifted to other routes; Route 7 showed a 30–50% increase and Route 9 rose about 15–20% in early data.

Commissioners pressed how the engagement will surface priorities that move together — for example, that changing frequency or route will affect cost. Riley said engagement sessions will include optional demographic questions, human-centered design worksheets and table discussions where participants rank options after seeing cost context. "We give them the option to have an informed input and then be informed about how they're gonna rank and prioritize," she said.

Staff said the schedule is to hold public meetings in summer/early fall, analyze and collate results in the fall, and brief leadership groups before decision-making in winter. Mobile GR signaled it will return analysis and memos to the commission; the director noted that final budget authority rests with the city commission.

The presentation also included brief operational updates and staffing news: Mobile GR introduced a Mobility Michigan fellow and interns who will support data analysis, community engagement, and strategic initiatives.

Next steps: staff will publish the survey and dates for the three ward meetings, run the fall analysis of community input and ridership data, and return recommendations to the Mobile GR Commission and then the city commission in winter for budget decisions.