RTC Washoe County to increase investment in transit services for seniors, people with disabilities

A payment-per-service-hour increase will be considered at the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) of Washoe County board meeting Feb. 18 for RTC’s FlexRIDE on-demand and ACCESS paratransit services contractor, MTM, Inc. 

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

“MTM provides critical 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 RTC Executive Director Bill Thomas. “As the community knows, the cost of everything is rising. It’s important that we provide the resources MTM needs to continue providing our community with quality on-demand and paratransit services.” 

Currently, the RTC pays its contractor MTM a rate of $62.11 for every hour a vehicle is in service. After a third-party directed labor market study done by the University of Nevada, Reno, along with RTC staff examining the raising current costs of providing contracted transit services, RTC staff is recommending increasing MTM’s contracted rate to $68.87 per service hour. 

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

MTM is currently in year five of a 10-year contract with the RTC. The RTC notes it has no plans to change the existing fare prices for passengers on RTC ACCESS or RTC FlexRIDE services. 

The RTC’s Feb. 18 board meeting will be held via Zoom at 9:00 a.m.