Starting September 1st, HOP transportation services will be changing throughout Central Texas.
In order to be more efficient and cost-effective, HOP services will be making changes so they are more in line with the Federal Transit Administration.
"We're funded in part by the Federal Transit Administration, FTA, and one of the requirements they have is if you receive funding to operate fixed route public transit, you're also required to provide what's called ADA complementary paratransit service," Robert Ator, Director of Urban Operations for HOP, said.
The requirement for the complementary service for disabled and elderly people is within three quarters of a mile from a fixed route, but...
"Over the years, we've ended up providing service beyond that... a little here, a little there, and it's really not very efficient way to provide service," Ator added.
So, in addition to cutting three routes (7, 21 and 30) that didn't meet performance standards in Killeen, HOP is also cutting back their ADA service to only meet the requirement.
"Disabled veterans, the elderly, the physically disabled... they're gonna hurt the most. They're gonna really hurt the most. And the problem is they've ignored these guidelines for the past twenty years. It's just now they've decided let's go ahead and now implement it," Chris Gegraaff, a visually impaired HOP transportation rider, said.
"They're gonna be in the same category as a bunch of other people are in our service area... and that is we don't meet all our transit needs. We know there's unmet needs," Ator said.
The focus of HOP transportation is fixed routes... therefore, cutting back on extra ADA service will allow HOP to find their foundation for future growth.
"I understand they're trying to do everything they can possibly do, and I understand the situation, but it's still not gonna stop the fact that hundreds of people are about to lose services that they rely on, depend on for the past two decades," Degraaff added.
There are five informative public hearings you can go to in August.
- Aug. 2nd @ Harker Heights Public Library
- 5:00-6:00 p.m.
- Aug. 3rd @ Killeen City Council Chambers
- 5:00-6:00 p.m.
- Aug. 8th @ Copperas Cove Police Department (Ave. E)
- 5:00-6:00 p.m.
- Aug. 9th @ Temple Public Library (3rd floor, Board Room)
- 5:00-6:00 p.m.
- Aug. 10th @ Harris Community Center (Belton)
- 5:00-6:00 p.m.
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