Texoma Area Paratransit Service bus stops, like this one seen in McKinney, have remained unserviced since November 2015.[/caption]

During Wednesday night's meeting, the McKinney Urban Transit District board, consisting of various neighboring city officials and all McKinney City Council members, voted on two items that bring public transit two steps closer to being established in the city.

Here are the key points from the meeting:

1. Funding 

On March 3 the city of McKinney was given direct-recipient status. This means the city can directly receive federal funds to be spent on public transportation rather than obtain money from a middleman. According to city staff, $300,000 worth of federal money is ready to be spent on transit within the MUTD.

The district also voted on how each city would pay for the overall transit service. For more information on that, click here.

2. Type of service

Both Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Denton County Transit Authority representatives were on hand to answer questions about increasing their levels of service and suggested taxi vouchers as a solution because they would allow a city to determine the actual level of demand for public transit services within the urban transit district. Taxi services are also able to accommodate paratransit passengers.

The district decided on a hybrid plan that allowed for an immediate taxi voucher service and allowed McKinney city staffers to acquire vehicles for an on-demand-type service. The Texoma Area Paratransit Service used vehicles owned by the city of McKinney, and the board voted to take measures to acquire those vehicles. TAPS had provided public transit within the city of McKinney until November 2015 when the company's financial trouble caused all service to cease within Collin County.

3. Timeline

McKinney operates the administrative arm of the urban transit district. After tonight's vote, staff will begin the process of selecting a service provider. According to city staff, taxi voucher service could begin within one to three months.

For more information on the MUTD board, click here.