The on-demand ride program that carries older, disabled and low-income residents around the McKinney area is set to get another year.
On Monday, Oct. 5, the McKinney Urban Transit District board and the City Council are each scheduled to consider extending the city's agreement with Dallas Area Rapid Transit's mobility services corporation, which runs the Collin County Transit program. The current deal, signed in November 2021 and renewed twice, expires Dec. 31. The proposed third amendment would carry it through Dec. 31, 2027.
Staff estimate the 2027 cost at $2,275,304 for the ride service and $60,000 for the DART GoPass app used to book trips, a total of $2,335,304. Actual spending will rise or fall with ridership. The transit board told staff on Sept. 1 to pursue the extension.
Who pays
According to the staff memo, the money would come from four places: $640,637 in Federal Transit Administration funds, $305,637 from TxDOT, $335,000 in contributions from member cities and $1,054,030 in leftover federal CARES Act money. McKinney received $8.8 million in CARES transit funds in 2020, and about $5.2 million of it was still unspent at the start of September 2025.
What riders get
Fares would not change under the amendment. A trip of up to 7 miles costs $5. Longer rides add 75 cents a mile, topping out at $17 for trips of 23 miles or more. Service runs 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends, with wheelchair-accessible vans plus rides provided through zTrip, Lyft and Uber.
A DART presentation prepared for the board shows the program averaged 471 active riders a month in 2026, up from 188 in 2022. Weekday trips averaged 272 a day in August. Seniors make up 37% of riders signed up for the program, Samaritan Inn clients 24%, low-income riders 20% and riders with disabilities 19%.
