Sanford’s City Council grapples with Buzzline’s sustainability

At a crowded conference table, the discussion over Sanford’s incoming microtransit program pivoted into a volley of comments and concerns about fare distribution and the system’s future.

At the special-called work session held on Tuesday by the Sanford City Council, the Microtransit Advisory Board (MAB) submitted program naming proposals, marketing strategies, distribution plans, and the designated pilot transit zone for official consideration and approval. Senior Planner David Montgomery laid out the vision for the new service.

Sanford received $3.4 million over three years from the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Mobility for Everyone, Everywhere in NC (MEE NC) Grant, which supports on-demand transit in rural, low-income communities. One of only 11 cities selected, Sanford is partnering with the County of Lee Transit System (COLTS) to provide both para-transit and microtransit services, the first city-county partnership of its kind in North Carolina, creating what’s known as a comingle system.

Councilmembers focused heavily on questions of parity: how to ensure equal access and affordable costs across Sanford. The Microtransit Zone reflects economic disparities identified through the city’s feasibility study and the Transportation Disadvantage Index, which highlighted poverty rates, zero-vehicle households, and age as barriers to transit access. While the long-term goal is to expand countywide, the first “enhanced service” zone will center east of U.S. 1, including the new Lee County Athletic Park.

The MAB also recommended temporary service extensions outside this zone for the first few months, including the industrial area along 421 Business, the North Carolina DMV in Tramway, the Stevens Center, and the Raleigh Executive Jetport, a project stakeholder.

The fleet currently includes two Chrysler Voyager minivans, with a third ADA-compliant vehicle on the way. Service is planned from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends, making Sanford the only microtransit pilot in North Carolina with Sunday service. Operations will run on TripMaster, a non-emergency transit software platform used in more than 550 U.S. communities, including other comingle systems. Dispatchers and transit operators have been hired, digital training is underway, and backend operations are slated to launch on September 23.

Residents will be able to request rides by app or phone, with fares set at $5 one-way or $10 round-trip. But questions about cost and fairness soon dominated the council’s discussion.

“The first set of riders are people who are already accustomed to taking COLTS, so they’re already used to paying the five dollars,” Mayor Rebecca Salmon said. In theory, those riders will receive “better service” at the same price.

In practice, TripMaster will fold COLTS into the network, which already serves about 100 fare-paying riders daily through a 24–48-hour reservation system. That number excludes riders supported by assistance programs such as the Salvation Army, Work First, or senior services. If Buzzline vans reach capacity, COLTS buses will absorb the overflow.

Councilmember Linda Rhodes, echoing comments from councilmembers Walter Ferguson and Byron Buckels, argued that a $10 round-trip fare would be unaffordable for families. “Maybe there are some built-in protections for the elderly, but it would be a substantial burden [for a family],” she said.

Two chairs down, Councilmember Mark Akinosho pressed for attention to older residents west of U.S. 1. “You have there an older population…You don’t want a 95-year-old person driving a car.” Rhodes and Buckels pushed back, noting that those residents often own cars, and argued that parity must account for multiple disadvantages, such as income and disability, when considering need.

Eyes shifted around the room before the mayor reiterated the program’s intent: “We want this service to be people calling one number and being matched up to Buzzline or COLTS, whichever makes sense.”

Montgomery emphasized that COLTS “can and will serve” outside the pilot area but warned that long-term funding is uncertain. “When the money runs, how are you going to pay for it?” he said, noting that DOT had recommended the $5 fare. “It has to come out of some other funding source between the city and county, and grant money. It’ll have to be figured out down the road.”

Councilmember Charles Taylor suggested that higher fares might encourage fewer trips, while nonprofits and businesses could subsidize rides through vouchers.

Montgomery noted that if demand is high, a fourth vehicle could eventually be added from service-generated revenue.

Still, affordability and sustainability remained sticking points. The program is expected to cost more than $1 million annually, with limited resources available beyond 2027, when federal funding is set to expire. At that point, fares would need to become the system’s primary source of revenue.

“We have a pool of money, right now, and we all care and think about the poor,” said Akinosho, before adding a warning. “To have this advantage for people who go to work, not riding for pleasure or convenience, we have to make sure that we have a pool of money so we can sustain this. Because once the money runs out, the city will be looking for money, the program won’t be able to sustain itself, and we will have to pack up the vans.” 

A brief discussion was held on setting the fares at $3, but Montgomery shared that, based on his conversations with the state, it’s more challenging to maintain revenue if the fare for the same service is raised in two years and two months, when the federal grant expires.

“Right now, it won’t affect you; you have three million dollars. If demand is so high that you have to get another vehicle, that’s a good problem to have. But long term…I don’t see how it’s perceivable that you don’t raise the rate to a significant amount,” reiterating that it costs $1.1 million to operate the microtransit program, with COLTS currently only generating $100,000 annually at the $5 fare rate.

“If we don’t charge five bucks, we have to raise money for it in a year or two,” commented Ferguson. “So if we do charge five bucks [round trip] and we don’t see less participation, then what happens? Do we still have to raise money?” he asked.

Montgomery stated firmly that the $2.50 is not sustainable. “You’re gonna have to come up with a million dollars a year to service this thing, and that’s just for the zone you’ve identified, not citywide,” acknowledging the council’s stated vision of serving the whole county in the future. 

“It’s discriminatory to have a city resident outside a zone to pay a higher rate than somebody that’s in the zone,” stated Councilmember Taylor unprompted. “That to me is discriminatory.”

Taylor recommended changing people’s habits, adding that people could be “better stewards of our money” by being more disciplined and not going to Wal-Mart “three times a week,” a consistent trip example used by councilmembers throughout the discussion. He also floated an innovative idea to vary fares by time of day to balance supply and demand.

Debbie Davidson, mobility manager for Lee County, cautioned that fare flexibility is not possible in the short term: “It’s not easy to change the fares because they are built into the software package.” For now, she said, it’s “the whole fare or no fare” with TripMaster. Davidson confirmed that free ride vouchers could be leveraged.

Councilmember Jean Dabbs succinctly summarized her thoughts and the concerns raised during the discussion. “Once we get it started, we have to sustain the program. I think that’s probably the most important thing that’s been said: we have to sustain this program. I compared the inconvenience or burden of the ten-dollar round-trip fare versus three to five years, maybe the service not existing because we can’t sustain it,” she said, looking at her colleagues. “That’s a greater burden on the population. I understand why we have to do the $10 round trip, because for the long term, we really are creating a lesser burden on people if we do this.”

Quarterly data from the pilot will ultimately determine whether $5 (or something higher) can sustain the service, depending on demand and program expenditures. While councilmembers voiced unease about how to close the funding gap, the mayor was clear: “We knew when we took this on that we were piloting something we’d eventually have to pick up. We’re hoping to get participation from other programs, but this is a real problem the council has been trying to solve.”

“Let’s get the data in and see where we go from here,” added Akinosho in agreement.

The Buzzline is expected to “bee” up and running by November or December.

Aug. 27, 2025

Diara J. Townes

Journalist