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Shared-ride taxi ridership edges up; committee warned of upcoming budget choices on fares and hours
Summary
June ridership for Washington County's shared-ride taxi rose month-over-month and year-over-year; staff told the committee ARPA and one-time funds will end next budget cycle and the board will soon have choices about raising fares, reducing hours, or seeking partnerships to sustain service.
The Department of Public Works committee reviewed June ridership data for the county's shared-ride taxi service and discussed near-term budget choices as temporary subsidy dollars decline.
Charlie, who presented the shared-ride report, said trips in June rose versus the previous month and year. Committee members pressed for more granular data about trip purpose, hour-of-day usage and whether many rides represent repeat users or one-off trips. Charlie said the new provider retained many drivers and the local manager from the previous provider and reported no increase in complaints after an initial period of confusion when providers changed in some areas.
Scott told the committee that some ARPA funds that have been subsidizing transit will no longer be available in the next budget cycle, meaning the committee and possibly the county board must decide whether to raise fares, reduce hours or find other funding sources. Staff said prior packet analyses include trip-purpose breakdowns (employment, medical, social) and daily/hourly patterns; they will provide additional detail in the next report to help members understand the cost per ride and where reductions would be least harmful.
Why it matters: Shared-ride service supports residents who need paratransit and employment connections; funding decisions may affect hours of operation, fares and service frequency.
What happens next: Staff will provide a more detailed ridership breakdown (including repeated-user counts and hourly patterns) in the next packet to support upcoming budget decisions.
