RTC Washoe County will increase investment in transit services for seniors and people with disabilities

An increase in payment per hour of service will be considered at the February 18 Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) board meeting for paratransit service contractor FlexRIDE on-demand and ACCESS by RTC, MTM, Inc.

This potential change will allow the RTC to ensure that these important services are adequately funded and can continue to operate at their current service levels.

“MTM provides essential transportation services to our community. RTC ACCESS is a lifeline for seniors and people with disabilities who depend on these services to get to doctor’s appointments, get groceries, pick up prescriptions, and more,” said the manager. General of the RTC, Bill Thomas. “As the community knows, the cost of everything is going up. It is important that we provide the resources MTM needs to continue to provide our community with quality on-demand and paratransit services.

Currently, the RTC pays its contractor MTM a rate of $62.11 for each hour of vehicle service. After a third-party-led labor market study conducted by the University of Nevada, Reno, with RTC staff examining the current rising costs of providing contracted transit services, RTC staff recommends a increase MTM’s contract rate to $68.87 per hour of service.

The potential rate change to the existing contract will allow MTM to meet these challenges while continuing the reliable FlexRIDE and ACCESS services that the community can rely on.

MTM is currently in the fifth year of a 10-year contract with the RTC. The RTC notes that it does not intend to change the current fares for passengers of the RTC ACCESS or RTC FlexRIDE services.

The February 18 RTC Board Meeting will be held via Zoom at 9:00 a.m.