Commissioners weigh NeoRide/WRTA rollover for county transit hotline amid service concerns

County staff and a representative for NeoRide described a rollover call service that routes certain county transit hotline calls (option 2) to WRTA, which answers scheduling and provider-eligibility questions and can email applications. NeoRide staff said the service has handled roughly 100 calls since July and can pass email addresses and vendor contacts to county staff.

Commissioners pressed for specifics: how many new riders were signed up through the service, whether calls were emergency or routine, why the service doesn’t start earlier in the day, whether calls could instead be routed to senior services or to a county answering option, and the per-call cost (board members mentioned figures near $10 per call). One commissioner questioned whether the county is getting value for money.

NeoRide said the present contract is small (the current annual charge is about $1,000 and the next invoice was due Feb. 28) and that WRTA handles scheduling and many eligibility questions. Commissioners suggested testing the service by calling and hearing how calls are handled and also considered tabling the item until more information and performance metrics are available. A motion to table or research alternatives was discussed; no final purchase or contract award was recorded at the meeting.