Project Profile

Twenty-Year Transit Plan

Fort Bend County, Texas

Project Summary: TGC was engaged by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to act as the lead firm in the development of a comprehensive transit plan for Fort Bend County.

Project Highlights

Fort Bend County, located southwest of Houston, is expected to continue to experience rapid residential and commercial growth. The resulting increase in congestion in the area presented a challenge to the area’s livability and mobility. The development of a comprehensive transit plan was an essential step to address these challenges and provide connectivity to major activity centers outside the county. Key services included:

Enhancing Existing Services through Coordination

As transit coordination among social service providers has become a prerequisite for TxDOT funding, TGC’s plan emphasized the opportunities for shared services. The plan highlighted the management structure needed to effectively organize and coordinate shared services.

Creating Cost-Effective Solutions for New Services

TGC presented several cost-effective transit mode and service alternatives. TGC presented components in low, medium, and high investment alternatives. Coordinating transit services was essential to expand services and maximize the impact of local share expenditures. Examples of potential new services include: countywide demand-response services; expanded park and ride services and facilities; and local circulator and connector services. Both the capital and operating plans cover a 20-year period and present potential schedules for constructing new facilities and implementing new services.

Identifying Capital and Operating Funding Sources

Fort Bend County has not effectively leveraged its local expenditures against federal state, and other funding sources. TGC modeled the impact of leverage in low, medium, and high investment scenarios. TGC outlined an strategy to facilitate the coordination between the county and the its social service providers to enable enhanced leveraging capability.