Some interesting stuff here.
Frequent cancellations or missed rides. Long wait times. Limited days and hours of operation.
These were among the concerns raised in an internal review of a microtransit pilot program overseen by Metro and formerly operated by Evolve Houston, a nonprofit championed by Metro Chair Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock and Mayor John Whitmire.
The microtransit program offers short trips in some Houston neighborhoods, providing flexible transit options for passengers. Metro hired Ernst & Young last year to analyze the program, but didn’t publicly release specific details of the findings. Metro interim CEO and President Thomas Jasien referenced the Ernst & Young review during a December board meeting.
The firm’s report, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, reveals new details about the program’s persistent challenges under Evolve’s pilot structure. The findings illustrate what led to the board’s decision to change from Evolve to a Metro-led program in December.
The analysis found that 43% of rider requests went unfulfilled in the pilot program, raising questions about its reliability. The microtransit service lacked wheelchair-accessible vehicles and Metro-controlled driver background checks. It operated with limited fleet sizes and faced data, funding and integration constraints.
An interlocal agreement between Metro and the city also created complexities about who should be held accountable for the services, according to the report. Metro funded the microtransit service, the city of Houston served as the middleman and Evolve ran the daily operations.
“Service maturity is outpacing pilot parameters, and is ripe for integration into a conventional Metro structure for contracting and operation,” the report reads.
The result: Metro was ill-prepared to meet the high demand of large community events, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In December, Metro officials abruptly scrapped plans to spend $4.1 million to extend the program, known as the “Community Connector,” under Evolve’s oversight. Evolve was nearing the end of its service on Dec. 31. Before the deadline, Metro announced that a well-established Metro contractor would continue the Community Connector.
Metro officials didn’t mention Evolve by name when the decision was made. Meredith Johnson, executive vice president and chief communications officer for Metro, said she believed it was inappropriate to discuss another company’s internal details or future plans.
[…]
After initially supporting the funding increase for Evolve, the board reversed course in December and approved $2.3 million to extend the service through June 2026 under an existing contract with a different company, MV Transportation. The company is Metro’s current contractor for MetroLift and curb2curb.
Johnson said the decision to change courses was based on the report’s findings, which called for moving from a pilot to a full Metro service and expanding the program to address long wait times and high demand. By choosing MV Transportation, the contractor had the skills to continue providing the microtransit service through this year, she added.
“We are really proud of it, and we’re celebrating that we get to expand,” Johnson said.
Metro didn’t release the Ernst & Young report to the public. But the Chronicle received a copy through a request under the Texas Public Information Act.
While detailing the obstacles in the microtransit program, the report also highlighted Evolve’s success in making the service feasible.
It showed ridership rose sharply during the pilot period, though it trailed behind other Metro-led services. The service operates in the Third Ward, Second Ward, downtown, the Heights and near Northside. Metro officials touted the microtransit as a first- and last-mile solution connecting residents to community resources.
Ridership grew by 38% in some microtransit zones and riders reported high satisfaction. Downtown monthly ridership increased by 500% since the pilot program launched, and 46% of trips began or ended at a Metro stop, underscoring the service’s value as a transit connector.
“It’s an early phase of a big picture, and we’re really proud of it,” [Casey Brown, president and executive director of Evolve] said.
The report recommended that Metro consolidate the Community Connector into an existing Metro microtransit program.
That would put Metro fully in charge of the service, clarifying responsibility, operations and data oversight. The report said the shift would make it easier to improve accessibility and safety and to handle high demand during the World Cup.
See here and here for some recent updates on this program. While the ridership numbers may be up (*), it’s important to remember they’re still very small overall, and to an extent ridership isn’t the point of microtransit because above a certain level it begins to cannibalize the real service. A copy of the report is embedded in the story – it’s short, 15 pages, all executive-summary style – and I still can’t tell after reading it if any of this had any effect on Metro’s bus or light rail ridership. Sure, I assume some of the people who got off at a transit stop then went on to transfer to that service, but how did it affect the numbers on those routes? Was it even measurable? How many of those Evolve riders would have boarded that bus or light rail line anyway? I have no idea.
I don’t want to relitigate all my issues with this, you’re already familiar with them. I just continue to be frustrated with the smallness of Metro’s vision, and that’s even before we get into the absolutely infuriating refusal to accept the will of the people and implement the 2019 MetroNext referendum. The change in Evolve management won’t change any of that.
(*) Weirdly, I’ve begun seeing these shuttles around the neighborhood a lot more lately. I’d go weeks without ever seeing one in action, but in the last seven to ten days I’ve seen at least one most days. Probably a coincidence, but it still surprised me.
“Metro officials touted the microtransit as a first- and last-mile solution connecting residents to community resources”
An unreliable service cannot provide a last-mile solution.
A service that ends at 5pm cannot provide a last-mile solution.
“…to handle high demand during the World Cup.”
The service is incapable of support high demand events period, and I expect to hear nothing about it from any World Cup attendee – or it only referred to mockingly.