The City’s Mobility Master Plan establishes several Core Values that define the Comprehensive Plan’s vision of Superior Mobility, support the Transportation-Connected and Convenient Strategic Outcome, and answer the community’s call for a new and bold direction for mobility investments in Sugar Land. Fort Bend County currently provides transit services in the City, including park and ride service at AMC Theater and University of Houston Sugar Land and a Demand Response service for personal trips.
The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) is seeking to develop effective and sustainable pilot projects through its Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Commuter and Transit Pilot Program. The Program assists in the development of various alternative travel modes that will reflect the emerging changes in the Houston Galveston region now and in the future. H-GAC is working to achieve several objectives with the Commuter and Transit Pilot Projects:
- Continued development of new commuter bus services between the rapidly growing regional suburbs and the growing urban employment core
- Initiation of first-mile/last-mile services that may include, but are not limited to the use of advanced vehicle and service support technologies
- Public Private Partnerships that will bring additional private sector expertise and technology for the Houston commuter and other transit services
The City is applying for the grant in order to pilot a microtransit service, which is a dynamic, on-demand, and shared public transit service utilizing smaller vehicles (vans/minivans) that operate in a pre-determined zone within the city limits. The pilot zone is about 18 square miles and includes major destinations, such as the Sugar Land Business Park, hospitals, grocery stores, Constellation Field, Smart Financial Centre, UH Sugar Land, Town Center, and others. There are approximately 47,000 residents within the zone, including the census tracts with the highest number of elderly, car-free, or one-care households.
Once in service, the City can modify the zone to adapt to community needs and actual demands. We anticipate the primary users of the microtransit service will be elderly, disabled, low-income students, and/or residents and visitors without a car. Travelers can use the service to get to any destination within the zone with an estimated cost of two dollars per trip. Commuters can also use the service to make connections to and from the two Fort Bend Transit Park & Ride lot locations, which are included in the pilot service area. The service will utilize a minimum of five, but up to seven plug-in hybrid and fully electric vans, which will help improve air quality and the transition of gasoline-powered public transit vehicles to electric vehicles in the region. Two vehicles will be wheelchair accessible.
H-GAC’s Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Commuter and Transit Pilot Program is a federally funded program that covers 80% of the total cost of the project, up to $3 million. If awarded, the City will be required to cover 20% of the total project cost. The total estimated cost of the pilot for one year of service is $1.5 million; therefore, the City will be obligated to match $300,000.00. Since the City currently does not have funding set aside for the match, staff will submit a budget request for matching funds during the FY24 budget process. The application is due on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. The H-GAC Board of Directors will approve projects for funding in late summer 2023. This process does not commit the City to expend any funds until the project receives approval for grant funding.
The Engineering Department requests City Council approve Resolution No. 23-09 supporting the Houston-Galveston Area Council Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Commuter and Transit Pilot Program Application to fund a microtransit service pilot in Sugar Land.