Bastrop City Council considering e-cab contract extension

The contract for Bastrop's free e-cab service will expire at the endo of November and the City Council is considering its options on renewing the contract.
Bastrop Advertiser-File Photo
 

Austin American-Statesman
Aaron Sullivan, Special to Bastrop Advertiser
November 10, 2023

The Bastrop City Council on Tuesday discussed approving a contract with an electric cab company to continue the free e-cab service, which operates in downtown Bastrop and surrounding areas.

The proposed contract with Electric Cabs of North America would spend $130,410 from the city’s excess revenues account. The e-cabs have connected the city since December 2019, when the U.S. Department of Energy funded a two-year pilot program to understand how the cabs would address semi-rural Bastrop’s transportation needs. That program will expire at the end of this month unless the City Council renews the contract.

The golf cart-like taxis operate in the afternoons and evenings Thursdays through Saturdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The cabs average 432 riders per month, with 36% of riders over 55 years old, according to the council’s agenda packet.

Mayor Pro-Tem John Kirkland raised concerns about the contract’s expense to the city. He said the contract would cost the city approximately $27 per rider.

“We certainly have discretionary funds to pay for something like this,” Kirkland said. “(The e-cabs are) certainly nice to have. But I really would like to see if there’s a way we can provide services at a lower cost.”

Previously, the city used its hotel occupancy tax, or HOT fund, to pay for the e-cabs in fiscal year 2023. However, less than 1% of e-cab riders are tourists. The city must use an alternate funding source since HOT funds must be used to support Bastrop’s tourism.

Council Member Cheryl Lee proposed using the e-cabs as tourist hop-on, hop-off tour vehicles.

“I think there’s plenty of history (in Bastrop) to have something like that implemented,” Lee said.

City Manager Sylvia Carrillo said using HOT funds in this way could limit the city’s residents’ accessibility to e-cabs. According to data collected from e-cab riders, approximately 80% of e-cab trips take residents home, to work or to go shopping.

“I know a lot of older people that are using (the e-cabs),” Lee said. “They have health issues. They need groceries. It’s their way to get out of the house.”

Council members also raised concerns about the e-cab’s operating radius, which may impact tourists’ use of the vehicles since most hotels are on the opposite side of Texas 71 from downtown. Vehicles can connect to hotels near Walmart via Childers Drive but cannot drive on the highway’s frontage road.

The council requested more information on the issue from city staff before approving the contract. The council wanted to explore expanding a partnership with the Capital Area Rural Transportation System, which provides micro-transit in Bastrop using vans. That service costs users $2 per ride.

The City Council tabled approving the contract until its next meeting on Nov. 14 to understand the range of options moving forward.

Additionally, the City Council unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance that allows the construction of an apartment complex between Riverside Grove and The Settlement along Texas 71, known as the Reed Ranch development.

The city’s Planning & Zoning Commission recommended in September that the developer place trees to obstruct the view between the complex and Riverside Grove. An amendment from Council Member Jimmy Crouch would require the developer to also place trees along the complex’s border with The Settlement.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations with people in The Settlement, and I want to make sure we’re not neglecting them,” Crouch said. “There’s nothing worse than having a three- to four-story building right next to your backyard.”

The City Council also unanimously approved an ordinance to legalize swimming and wading in the Colorado River in Bastrop’s parks. The city's recreation manager, Terry Moore, said those activities were previously illegal within city limits.