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Transit administrator warns CARES funds will run out in about four years; committee to seek grants and partnerships
Summary
McKinney transit administrator Jasmine Tucker told the MUTD board that $8.8 million in CARES funding from 2020 has been reduced to roughly $4.3 million and, at current spending, could be exhausted in about four years; staff recommended pursuing grants, member-city contributions and private partnerships to avoid cutting service.
Jasmine Tucker, the City of McKinney transit administrator, told the McKinney Urban Transit District board that the program began with $8,800,000 in CARES Act funding in 2020 and now holds about $4,300,000. "We started with $8,800,000 back in 2020, and we are now around $4,300,000," she said, and added that at the current rate of expenditure the funds are projected to be exhausted within four years.
Tucker presented a menu of revenue and expenditure options the board could direct staff to analyze further. Options reviewed included seeking additional one-time grants, increasing member-city contributions, pursuing private partnerships (for example with dialysis centers and major employers), restricting trip purpose to medical only (estimated savings $200,000–$300,000 annually), capping trip distance to seven miles (estimated $500,000–$600,000 annually saved and roughly 4,000 monthly vehicle miles reduced), and capping trip frequency (staff floated a 20-ride cap as an example). She cautioned that many of the cost-saving options would require software changes and could exclude some riders, notably dialysis patients.
Board members discussed the tradeoffs and distributional effects: limiting trip distance could disproportionately affect riders from member cities farther from McKinney and could require a geographic analysis. Several board members said they preferred pursuing new revenue and partnerships before cutting service; Tucker said she would pursue partnerships with dialysis centers and other entities and return with an analysis at the next meeting.
