Lexington’s transit authority, LexTran, presented the results of its microtransit study to councilmembers earlier this week.
Microtransit is a hybrid of public transportation and ride-sharing apps, such as Uber and Lyft. It’s designed to offer commuters more flexible routes.
Fred Combs, the general manager of Lexington’s public transit authority, said the project would ideally exist along with the city’s existing bus routes.
“We found that there is an openness to microtransit, but we did find the desire to maintain and strengthen our fixed route service,” Combs said. “So as we talk about microtransit, we're talking about ways to complement what we already have.”
LexTran recommended operations be split into six zones, with two vehicles each. Fare would be $3 each trip, and the vehicles would operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A potential, year-long pilot project would focus on northwest Lexington. A proposal was made to fund the pilot with leftover money from last year’s budget during a council work session, owing to $475,000 from the city’s unassigned fund balance.
“There's a high concentration of jobs. There's healthcare access, with a VA hospital in Eastern State. We also have our wheel service that serves some dialysis clinics in that zone,” he said.
LexTran’s next step is to finalize the project’s design and secure funding before moving forward with the pilot’s launch. Combs says city-wide microtransit would cost the city $8.4 million annually.
Council decided to table making a decision on funding a pilot project until next month, after more discussions are had.
