Lextran seeks Council approval for FY26 Budget

In Tuesday’s Council Work Session, Lextran General Manager Fred Combs will present Lextran’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Council will vote on whether or not to approve the budget in that meeting.

Lextran is proposing a $37.9 million budget. Nearly 70% of Lextran’s revenue comes from a dedicated property tax of .06 cents per $100 of taxable property. No major changes to Lextran services are proposed in the budget, but some projects included are:

• Improvements to make sure Lextran buses arrive at stops on time more frequently.

• Upgrading buses with digital screens showing weather, date and time, and real-time information showing where the bus is on the route.

• Bringing new buses into the Lextran fleet. Lextran currently has 10 buses on order waiting for shipment, and 10 paratransit vehicles.

Not included in the budget is any funding for a microtransit pilot program. Since late 2023, BUILD — an interfaith organization that advocates for various public policies in Lexington — has been pushing Lextran to pilot a microtransit service. Microtransit is essential publicly funded Uber — a rider could book a ride on an app, and a Lextran driver would arrive to pick them up and drop them off at their destination. A microtransit service in Lexington would only operate in certain zones that have little or no bus service. You can read more about the idea here.

Lextran commissioned a Microtransit Feasibility Study last year as part of their FY25 budget. That study should be completed in the next few months and will evaluate how useful a microtransit service could be in Lexington, as well as how much it would cost to operate.

Due to a lack of funding, Lextran is not proposing any funding toward a microtransit pilot program in their upcoming budget. In April 22nd’s Environmental Quality and Public Works (EQPW) Committee, Combs estimated that a microtransit program would cost $1 million to operate annually in just one zone.

In the April 22nd EQPW Committee meeting, At-Large Councilmember Chuck Ellinger hinted at voting to disapprove Lextran’s budget if they do not provide any funding for microtransit. He cited Kentucky Revised Statue 96A, Section .360, which grants Council the authority to disapprove Lextran’s budget and require Lextran to make changes to their budget before Council would approve it. Ellinger has been the most vocal advocate for a microtransit program on Council.

You can review the presentation slides starting on page 43 of this packet.

Council Work Session will be held on Tuesday, May 6th at 3pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.

Republished from CivicLex.

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