Round Rock expands on-demand transit service

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Starting July 1 the City of Round Rock's on-demand transit ride system will expand to its entire city limits after a successful pilot program in 2023. Despite the expansion, some residents are concerned they may still be left out.

According to the City of Round Rock, the service area for its Round Rock Rides Program will extend the on-demand ride-sharing program to the rest of the city.

Previously, the program only served a portion of town to test how often it would be used before possibly expanding to the rest of the city.

The ride program is facilitated through a mobile app, website or phone call at 325-312-2124 by the Austin-based company "zTrip." It allows passengers to book their ride and be picked up by the driver at a drop-off/pick-up location.

Karen Choate has lived near AW Grimes Boulevard for decades. The 66-year-old is legally blind and has mobility issues, because of this she utilizes the area's public transportation system.

Her home is surrounded by Round Rock's city limit but the land it sits on is Williamson County. To use the ride system, Choate walks to the nearest pickup location within the city.

That nearest spot is a convenience store more than a mile away.

Choate said she's waiting to see if this new expansion will bring a stop closer to her home especially as the summer heat continues.

“I don't want to use the fact that I'm legally blind and have a bone-on-bone knee as a factor, but I'm also 66 years old. Come on give a senior citizen a break. You don't need to make somebody walk that far when there's no shade,” Choate said.

According to a spokesperson from the City of Round Rock, there will be a stop closer to Choate's home.