The study, done in partnership with the Houston-Galveston Area Council, dates back to 2022 and includes recommendations for what types of public transportation the city should consider building.
The full story
Currently, there are two public transit services operating in Pearland, according to the study: the Harris County Rides program for seniors, and METROStar, which is for commuter vanpooling.
The Galveston Coast Transit District oversees Harris County Rides, which costs the city up to $36,000 annually for an estimated 3,000 trips.
The study includes results from a survey of 2,307 Pearland residents that showed:
- 56% of respondents favored public transit in Pearland
- 75% of respondents favored public transit for seniors and people with disabilities
At the City Council meeting, the H-GAC recommended Pearland pursue an on-demand transit service, similar to ridesharing apps like Uber or Lyft, paid for by the city and federal grants at an estimated cost of $480,000 per year.
Given the large number of commuters from Pearland to the Texas Medical Center, the HGAC also recommended a commuter bus service to and from Pearland to that area. Nearly 10% of Pearland’s 71,000 commuters are going to the Texas Medical Center, according to the report.
In 2020, a privately-operated commuter bus service offering routes from Pearland to the Texas Medical Center and downtown was discontinued because it didn’t have a high enough volume of riders, communications director Josh Lee said.
In their own words
Council member Clint Byrom said he was apprehensive about the possibility of having to rely on federal grants to afford the public transit programs, especially since there is always the possibility that the federal government could discontinue funding or deny the grant applications.
“As a concept, I struggle with this a little bit and I appreciate the cost-benefit analysis you put on here and I appreciate having the transparency to say, ‘This is the cost-benefit analysis if we get federal help.' I’m not a huge fan of doing anything that requires federal help,” Byron said.
What’s next?
Although City Council did not vote on any of the study’s recommendations, Byrom asked the transit study be discussed further at upcoming strategic planning meetings.