Sugar Land applies for grant funding for microtransit pilot
Published: Fri, 05/05/23
Sugar Land applies for grant funding for microtransit pilot
The pilot would use passenger vans to connect riders with major destinations, such as hospitals, grocery stores and entertainment centers.
(Courtesy Unsplash)
Community Impact
By Renee Farmer
Updated
A microtransit pilot program could soon service Sugar Land through a grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council.
Sugar Land City Council unanimously approved a grant application to the H-GAC’s Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Commuter and Transit Pilot Program during its May 2 meeting.
The vans would operate in a predetermined, 18-square-mile pilot zone that includes the Sugar Land Business Park, hospitals, grocery stores, Constellation Field, the two Fort Bend Transit Park & Ride lots, Smart Financial Centre, The University of Houston-Sugar Land, and Sugar Land Town Center. Approximately 47,000 residents live within the zone, including the census tracts with the highest number of elderly, car-free or one-car households, according to agenda documents.
Trips will cost an estimated $2. The service will use 5-7 hybrid and fully electric vans, two of which will be wheelchair accessible.
The H-GAC’s federally funded program would cover 80% of the project’s total cost, up to $3 million, according to agenda documents. A one-year pilot service costs an estimated $1.5 million, meaning Sugar Land would need to match $300,000. The city doesn’t have these funds set aside but will request them during the fiscal year 2023-24 budget process.
The H-GAC’s board of directors will select projects for funding in late summer.