Valley Metro wants to bring a Microtransit bus system to the RGV’s rural areas

WESLACO, Texas – If all the small cities in the Rio Grande Valley can commit around $7,000, Valley Metro would be able to launch a robust Microtransit service, similar to Uber or Lyft, for the rural communities.

Tom Logan, director of transit operations for Valley Metro, described Microtransit as a flexible, on-demand, shared-ride transportation service that aims to bridge the gap between fixed-route public transit and individual transportation.

Logan said passengers would book their ride the day before they need it.

“Our main goal is to create a coalition of cities and local entities to work together to expand public transportation in the region, specifically in non-urban and rural areas of the county,” Logan said.

“It would be a door-to-door service. The busses hold up to 14 people, so it is reservation-based, first come, first served.”

The service would operate Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Logan explained.

Logan spoke in depth about the proposed program at an LRGVDC Small Cities Coalition meeting. LRGVDC stands for Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.

Logan gave credit for the idea of introducing Microtransit to the Valley to the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force. 

“So, the whole purpose is to address the needs of the community, basically taking people out to their needs. We heard (in the Prosperity Task Force meetings) that there are a lot of food deserts out there. Basically, people don’t have access to an H-E-B, a Walmart, a big box store. They have to go to the convenience stores. And you know what you get at convenience stores? You don’t get the foods, you don’t get the meats, you get all processed food. So that’s a big need,” Logan said.

“What else? Getting medical attention, getting medical supplies. Higher Ed was a big element that was out there, kids from high school not knowing how are they going to reach the university campus or the college campus here in the Valley? We also heard from workers, they can go to the interview, but they cannot keep a schedule steady enough to keep that job.”

During the Q&A session, Prosperity Task Force Coordinator Mario Reyna asked Logan how much a Microtransit service would cost. 

“Well, just for the operational side, we’re looking at around $632,000. Let’s say that we can get ten cities to join together on this. Ten percent of that is $63,000,” Logan responded.

Reyna thanked Logan for working on the project.

“I think he (Logan) said it all – we need transportation in smaller communities, and that’s the reason that this idea came about,” Reyna said.

“I think in Hidalgo County we have 22 cities. And in the small category, maybe we have 15 or 16. So, we’re asking the small cities to participate, $63,000. So, I think when it comes to the small cities, maybe $7,000 or $5,000 each. It is not a significant contribution but it’s something that’s going to help us deliver this particular service.”

Logan said he and his team would be visiting each small city to see if they are willing to participate and be a funding partner for the service. 

“We already have the vehicles. We already have the federal match. We’re just lacking that local match.”

The Case for Micro Transit

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Here is the presentation Logan made at the Small Cities Coalition meeting:

“We’re here because we partner with Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force. Basically, they’re reaching out to the whole community within Hidalgo County and asking, what are the needs of the community? And one of the needs that kept popping up was public transportation. They needed transportation, some form of transportation. 

“So, as the meetings kept going, transportation kept coming up. The (County) Judge (Richard Cortez) had asked us to put something together that could be deployed within a year. So, we started working with McAllen Metro and pitched different strategies. One of them was Microtransit. Picture Microtransit like your Uber Lyft type of service, but it’s being run by a public agency, so it’s a little bit more tied to the bus network, and it’s a little bit more affordable, but it follows the same transit system that you normally have in a big metro. 

“Why Hidalgo County? Not only because they put together the Prosperity Task Force, but Hidalgo County also had an estimated population in 2024 of 914,000 people living here in Hidalgo. It is the ninth most populous county in the state. Hidalgo County ranks among the largest border counties, trailing only San Diego and Pima County, Arizona. So, we’re right behind those two counties along the whole Mexico-US border. Not only that, but Hidalgo County is also the 15th largest county in the State of Texas when it comes to land. So that gives us all the different elements to put a good transit mode system in place that we can research and launch here in Hidalgo. 

“So, the whole purpose is to address the need of the community, basically taking people out to their needs. We heard (in the Prosperity Task Force meetings) that there are a lot of food deserts out there. Basically, people don’t have access to an H-E-B, a Walmart, a big box store. They have to go to the convenience stores. And you know what you get at convenience stores? You don’t get the foods, you don’t get the meats, you get all processed food. So that’s a big need. 

“What else? Getting medical attention, getting medical supplies. Higher Ed was a big element that was out there, kids from high school not knowing how are they going to reach the university campus or the college campus here in the Valley? We also heard from workers, they can go to the interview, but they cannot keep a schedule steady enough to keep that job. 

“So, public transportation, transportation as a whole, is a big barrier out there, here in the in the Valley. We kept hearing that. We recently were in Raymondville, in Willacy County, with Mayor Gonzalez there. And we heard it. We need more public transportation. We need to connect our different cities in Willacy County to Harlingen. You know, it took us ten years to get that service funded through the state, and it was competitive. We only have it for two years. So, we’re asking the public, hey, go out there, use it, explore it. Let us know how we can better design the route. Nothing set in stone. So, we need to add more bus stops, realign the route, modify the schedules. We can all do that, but we need to hear from the public. 

“So, moving along, looking at different scenarios, understanding that running a bus route is pretty much tied to an alignment. You cannot send it to different colonias or different sections of rural communities. So, we felt that the best mode will be demand response, like a taxi service that people will call in advance, make a reservation, tell us where they were going to get picked up and where they want to go, and we’ll do that the following day. We currently have that service very limited, but we have none of that here in Hidalgo County. So, we feel that this was the right approach. 

“Why choose Microtransit? It’s affordable. It is very convenient. And when I mention affordable, for the same day service, we’re proposing $10. If you get on an Uber or a Lyft from Weslaco to the airport in McAllen, that is $33 one way. If you go from here to a VA clinic in McAllen, or any clinic in McAllen, that’s $19. So, we feel that this is very comfortable to what they’re asking for, what they need, but a more affordable and convenient way of getting there. 

“It will help mobilize our community. It will give them that resource that they can use at their leisure or at their pleasure to move around the Valley. Or, in this case, just here in Hidalgo.

“So how does it work? Very simple. You just schedule your ride. You call the 1-800 number. Pretty soon, we’re looking at an app similar to what we have when you use Uber or Lyft. You just schedule your trip, and then you choose the service, demand response the day before, or premium service same day, whatever you want. Then you track your vehicle, your driver, through the app, or you call the 1-800 number, and they will keep you informed. Okay, the bus is going to be there, or the van will be there in five minutes, 10 minutes, make sure you’re there by the curb. And then enjoy the comfortable, a stress-free ride. It’s that simple, guys. There’s no science behind it. A lot of people are already used to that. It’s basically a modified mode of a taxiway.

“Then the service itself. We’re looking at Monday through Friday service, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. We’re trying to capture most of the schedules out there, if they need to go to school, medical appointment, a job, an interview, the seven to seven will give them a lot of flexibility, and also it will give us non-peak hours for the regular riders that want to go shopping, visit a relative or going to some do some recreational activities. We hear a lot from the elderly community that they want to do a little bit more than just going to the adult day care center. They want to go shopping on their own, or they just want to go walk the mall or big stores such as Walmart’s or H-E-B. And we’re looking at the whole service area of Hidalgo. Here you have a Hidalgo County, there’s four precincts so we’re planning on installing one van at each precinct, and mainly to target the small communities, the small cities. Why? Because the big cities already have regular bus service. We feel that this is a need. We need to give more flexibility to our riders. And talking to the judge and the staff from his office, they feel this is a right approach, but we just have to get it going.

“And so, basically, the reason that we’re here is we’re working with the county again, we’re trying to establish this new service. But as you all know, with public transportation we receive federal funds and state funds. But there’s a caveat. They do require a local match in the form of cash. So, for every route that we want to operate, 50 percent has to come from the local entities or the region. To maintain the fleet, it is 80/20. So, we have to find 20 percent. 

“You heard Mr. Manuel Cruz, our (LRGVDC) executive director, talk about a Regional Transit Authority. Why is that important for our region? Because we currently don’t have a Regional Transit Authority here in the Valley. Laredo, Corpus, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, all those metros have such an authority, and the beauty of that is they collect a form of local dollars, via sales tax, via some sort of a fee or other form of tax, and that helps them run that vast network of services in their cities. 

“Right now, we are stretched through a lot of partnerships. We go out to every city every year to request a local match. If that match doesn’t come, for whatever reason it is not given, then we have to reconsider that service. So, our service is very delicate right now. If we cannot fund it, we will decrease the level of service. So, the Regional Transit Authority makes a lot of sense. That’s something that a feasibility study that will be able to figure out. We just got notified that we’ll get the funding through the (RGV) MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) to do the feasibility study. And so, you’ll start hearing more about it as we move forward. 

“So, in essence, what are we trying to do here? Our main goal is to create a coalition of cities and local entities to work together to expand public transportation in the region, specifically in non-urban and rural areas of the county. This is well-needed also in Cameron County, so it will just mimic what we do here in Hidalgo County. What we do here we can easily do in Cameron County. 

“So, what we’re trying to do is work together to leverage the economical upscales by working together and be able to land some of these projects. So, if you’re interested, we’re going to be visiting each city to see if you’re willing to participate and be a funding partner for this service. We already have the vehicles. We already have the federal match. We are just lacking that local match.”

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