<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0pdHEF_0wCV7sQO00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0pdHEF_0wCV7sQO00" width="1500" height="1000" ><figcaption>The HOP expects to double its ridership through an app-based micro-transit system and new commuter service.</figcaption></figure>As the main form of public transportation in Coryell County and surrounding areas, Hill Country Transit District, also known as “The HOP,” hopes to make riding the bus a little easier next year.As a way to increase ridership and reduce wait times, The HOP plans to expand its rural services by introducing a micro-transit system in Gatesville and a commuter bus that travels directly to Temple. Representatives from Hill Country Transit District attended Coryell County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, Oct. 8, to present some of the proposed changes.“For those within the county that need public access to public transportation, I think it's going to be a significant movement in a positive direction,” County Judge Roger Miller said. “It gives connectivity to Copperas Cove, Killeen, Belton, Temple – all of those areas within the region that have, through analysis or through ridership, demonstrated that's where folks within Coryell County, in the rural portion, where they are going.”The micro-transit system will operate like Uber or Lyft, where riders can schedule a trip through an app or by phone as well as monitor a live feed of the bus’s estimated arrival time. Micro-transit operates on a rideshare, where drivers will pick up other passengers who submit ride requests along the route.Each county in the rural division will have at least one designated zone for the micro-transit, which will be Gatesville in Coryell County.“We are doing a huge transition in 2025,” said Darrell Burtner, assistant general manager of Hill Country Transit District. “This concept of going to micro-transit is cutting edge – I'm not going to say it's bleeding edge, because it's been around since 2019, but what happened right after 2019 was COVID. It kind of got started with some of the other cities and states, and then it kind of got back burned, and now it's come back to the forefront to move forward.”Along with micro-transit, The HOP plans to implement a rural commuter bus that will travel from Gatesville to Temple and back. It will have a set location for pick up and drop off, so passengers do not need to schedule the trips. The stops for the commuter line have not been finalized yet, but Burtner said one option is the Santa Fe Plaza in downtown Temple. The HOP will also continue covering the entire county through rural-demand response services but asks riders outside of the micro-transit zone to schedule their trip 24-hours in advance so bus drivers can build a more efficient route. The rural-demand service buses will drop off at predetermined stops in Gatesville, such as Walmart, HEB, or the hospital and clinics.The micro-transit system will also offer connections to other regional commuter transits in the cities and rural counties within the district. Currently, Hill Country Transit District provides rural transit services across nine counties but plans to drop its coverage to only four of the counties in Jan. 2025. It will then provide transportation within the cities of Copperas Cove, Killeen, Harker Heights, Temple, and Belton for its urban division, and Coryell, Lampasas, rural Bell, and Milam counties for its rural services. The HOP rolled out the micro-transit system in its urban districts and Fort Cavazos in September.“Honestly, we're expecting our ridership to probably double in 2025 as it has done in 2024, and maybe triple,” Burtner said.Tony Austin, director of rural operations for Hill Country Transit District, said the plan is to fully connect the region together through the rural and urban micro-transit and commuter systems.“We want the whole district to be able to travel through the whole district,” Austin said. “And that's the end goal of what we want to try to do.”Along with expanding its rural services, Austin explains that The HOP also plans to eliminate its non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) and school shuttle rides for clients in the rural division in an effort to cut organizational costs.Following the loss of a Medicaid contract with Texas Health and Human Services in 2018, Austin explains that NEMT rides have become a significant expense for the transit district. He said bus drivers often wait hours for one client on NEMT trips in urban areas like Temple.“The problem is that it costs us money to do that, and then you have a driver sitting down there two to three hours, basically out of service and not being able to perform trips for Gatesville or Coryell County,” Austin said.Austin notes that there are now alternative options for NEMT transport through other providers such as Medlift. Riders can also receive transport to doctor’s appointments through the micro-transit or rural regional commuter services. “It just means we won't be transporting, but those trips will still exist,” Austin said. “Medicaid will ensure those people get to where they need to, but it just won't be at the cost of Hill Country Transit District.”Austin said that The HOP also plans to cut its school shuttle services due to limited ridership and to help free up drivers, so they are available for general public rides. The HOP’s school shuttle services would provide transport that school district buses could not make, such as dropping students off at after-school daycare.Students can also request a general-purpose ride through the micro-transit system if transportation is needed.The HOP also plans to reinstate fares for rural transportation next year. The fares were temporarily suspended as a way to encourage ridership following a decline in numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic.The proposed fares for rural micro-transit zones cost $2, county trips outside of the City of Gatesville will cost $4, and the rural regional commuter to Temple will cost $6.Austin adds that the district might introduce day, weekly, or monthly passes for those who frequently utilize The HOP.“We want to try to make it so if somebody's going to take a lot of trips, to make it feasible for them to be able to afford to take our trips with us on those passes,” Austin said.The changes come after Hill Country Transit District requested that rural counties in the district commit local funds for its services. In Nov. 2023, Coryell County Commissioners approved a $50,000 contribution toward HOP services for this year. The HOP also receives federal and state funding.“For the same amount of money, we're getting more assets for Coryell County for the fiscal year 2025 budgeting period, our calendar year under 2025 services,” Miller said. “I think that's a great benefit to the county.”Austin said Hill Country Transit District plans to implement the changes in early 2025.To learn more about The HOP or to download the app, visit takethehop.com</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Changes coming to the HOP's rural transit

As the main form of public transportation in Coryell County and surrounding areas, Hill Country Transit District, also known as “The HOP,” hopes to make riding the bus a little easier next year. As a way to increase ridership and reduce wait times, The HOP plans to expand...