Brazos Transit District administrators respond to criticism from recent Brazos County commission meetings

This podcast contains comments from the February 4, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting.Administrators at the Brazos Transit District (BTD) respond to complaints from recent Brazos County commission meetings. After meeting in private with two commissioners, vice president Jo Marlow showed photos during the commission's February 4th meeting of large buses where there were enough on board that some riders were standing.BTD's deputy CEO, Wendy Weedon, says the average life span of a large diesel bus is 12 years, versus five years for a smaller bus that is gasoline powered.Weedon said the only difference in the cost of operating a large diesel bus versus a smaller bus that is powered by a gasoline engine, is paying more for the driver of the large bus because they are required to have a commercial license.Weedon said the larger buses were needed to accommodate riders using mobility devices.In response to a question about spending BTD money on ride sharing, Weedon says she has seen local ride sharing companies charge as much as $200 dollars during large events.County commissioners were also given presentation materials about BTD's transition in Brazos County as a large urban transit provider as determined by the federal government. That resulted in county commissioners and the city councils in College Station and Bryan to split the cost to make up the reduction in federal funding.Commissioners were also told about the transition of the county taking ownership of the Roy Kelly parking garage located south of the courthouse.Click HERE to read and download presentation materials that were shown at the February 4, 2025 Brazos County commission meeting.