Galveston County votes for transit district

The City of Dickinson opts in

Jon Boyd, Jun 23, 10.

Galveston County Commissioners Court and the City of Dickinson approved resolutions to establish a Chapter 458 Urban-Rural Transit District, according to Guidry News. At the same Commissioners Court meeting, the body appointed Galveston County Judge Jim Yarborough to represent the county in the process of establishing the district. State law provides that any county with no transit authority representation may use Chapter 458 to establish an rural-urban district in an area with an urbanized area with at least 50,000 residents, but fewer than 200,000 residents. Galveston County and its constituent municipalities must elect representatives to a rural public transportation conference as one of the first steps in formally establishing a Chapter 458 district.

Island Transit operates transit in the City of Galveston, including seven fixed bus routes, a park and ride connecting Galveston and The Mall of the Mainland in Texas City, and demand-response service. Island Transit has suspended operation of the trolley system due to damage from Hurricane Ike which has not yet been repaired.

Commissioner Yarborough believes a Chapter 458 district will enable the county to better focus on transit and compete with other regional transit agencies for federal dollars, the Guidry story said.

Galveston County lies within the jurisdiction of the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s (H-GAC) Transportation Policy Council, the Metropolitan Planning Authority of the eight-county region.
(Photo credit: Bolero2005)