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Providing 2 million annual ADA-paratransit trips throughout Houston and an exended service area that includes the Kingwood, Humble, and Clear Lake communities, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston METRO)’s METROLift paratransit program serves as an essential transportation option, moving residents across all of Harris County. Guided by the agency’s vision in the METRONow strategic plan to meet residents and their communities where they are today, the time had come to reassess the paratransit program’s operations and transition to a platform that could deliver modernized, technology-driven service that METROLift customers expected and deserved.
Transitioning a paratransit program with high demand needs not just a capable platform, but a trusted technology partner that has demonstrated success leading agencies through modernization at scale. From the project kick off in late June 2025 onward, Houston METRO and its dedicated RideCo project team worked collaboratively through change management; requirements gathering; service design, modeling, planning; and comprehensive training that included all operations staff and partners ahead of the phased launch that began in November and completed in December. Within a six-month timeline, RideCo delivered on the large-scale modernization of the 550+ vehicle METROLift paratransit program. Through its partnership with RideCo, Houston METRO accomplished a systemic transformation across eligibility, reservations, scheduling, and dispatching—at the same time accelerating time to value.
Operating on RideCo’s platform, Houston METRO is providing a modernized, technology-driven service that actualizes the agency’s vision in the METRONow strategic plan. Under the consolidated METRO On Demand app, customers using the METROLift, curb2curb, and Community Connector programs can independently plan, schedule, and manage trips at their convenience, streamlining the customer experience across paratransit and all on-demand programs. Through consolidating the METROLift, curb2curb, and Community Connector programs into the RideCo platform, Houston METRO was able to commingle the programs, pooling fleet resources to manage fluctuating demand and scale service levels where needed. Through commingling alone, Houston METRO has achieved $1.1M+ in potential annualized cost savings within seven months of implementing RideCo.
