ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — City of Round Rock’s Transportation Director Gary Hudder said it will change how it provides paratransit services in June.
Hudder said low ridership in some areas amid rapid population growth in others has spurred the city to revamp the service.
He said, currently, there is a fixed-line system where paratransit riders are picked up and dropped off on a daily schedule.
At next week’s Round Rock City Council meeting, Hudder said he will share more about these transportation changes, including the replacement of the current system with a mobility, on-demand service.
The service will be similar to how a person would order a rideshare service, he said.
Those currently using the paratransit system, contracted through San Antonio-based Star Shuttle, will qualify for the new system provided by Austin-based Ztrip, Hudder said.
“The transit system has to continue to be modified and morphed to satisfy a rapidly growing community,” Hudder said.
The change will exclude at least six paratransit riders who have all been notified, Hudder said.
One of them is Karen Choate who lives just outside of Round Rock’s city limit.
She is visually impaired and can no longer drive, but gets around via Star Shuttle to her twice-a-week domino games in downtown Round Rock.
Because Choate is outside of the city limit, she does not qualify for the new-on-demand service coming June 12.
Choate said it’s very likely she can catch a ride with a neighbor that has a similar recreation center schedule as her, but this new change will limit some of her mobility.
“Obviously, you don’t want just one person on a bus at a time. So I understand that need, but I think there’s a way to work together,” Choate said.