Texas-based Collin County Transit – a partnership between the City of McKinney, the McKinney Urban Transit District (MUTD) and the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA) – is expanding its service footprint and will begin operating in the Town of Prosper effective Monday, June 3.

The service consists of a subsidized taxi voucher program that provides transit options for participating MUTD cities including McKinney, Lowry Crossing, Melissa, Princeton, Celina and now the Town of Prosper.

On April 10, the Town of Prosper joined the MUTD, which makes transit decisions and manages federal and state transit funding on behalf of the participating cities. Prosper residents will now be able to use MUTD services such as Collin County Transit, which provides on-demand transportation for older adults, individuals with disabilities and low-income residents in its service area.

Collin County Transit operates Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The service consists of three main programs:

• Older Adult Program – Must be a resident of one of the member cities and 65 years or older.

• Individuals with Disabilities Program - Must be a resident of one of the member cities and meet one of the seven criteria.

• Low Income Transit Subsidy Program – Must be a resident of one of the member cities and have an annual household income (before taxes) at the required program amounts based on the U.S. Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Trips can be booked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. A variety of taxis operate Collin County Transit, including wheelchair accessible vehicles. A resident of one of the participating cities can apply for Collin County Transit via email, fax, online, phone or mail and must provide a completed application, signed terms and conditions, and copies of all required documentation. Irving Holdings, DCTA’s contractor, operates and manages the taxi voucher program.

Customers pay the fare for the taxi voucher program using a pre-issued taxi debit card that they can load a maximum of $150 each month (in $5 increments). The customer contribution will be matched three to one for a total value of up to $600 maximum per month. Taxi drivers will accept cash and credit card for any additional payments required.

One-way taxi fare is based on the origin and destination requested by the customer. Basic meter rates apply:

• $2.25 is the boarding fare plus $1.80 per mile

• There is a traffic delay/waiting time charge of $.45 per every 1.5 minutes

• Riders may be responsible for any toll charges the trip may require (tolls may be paid using the debit card)

A total of 8,876 trips have been completed with Collin County Transit from inception in June 2017 through February 2019. The program has steadily increased from the first month of service with less than 100 trips to more than 800 trips in February 2019.