Residents of Fountain Hills will be able to sign up for the Valley Metro RideChoice program within the next week.

The program will begin service to the town with the new fiscal year on July 1 after the Town Council approved an agreement with Valley Metro.

The program is open to those with qualifying disabilities and those who are age 65 and older. It is a voucher program that uses an electronic card to allow participants to use a taxi for rides.

The client will pay 25 percent of the cost with the town to subsidize 75 percent of the cost. The town has roughly $60,000 to use for the program in year one.

Valley Metro has capped participation at 40, which will be determined on a first come, first serve basis.

To participate, an individual must fill out a RideChoice application, which will be reviewed by Valley Metro staff to determine eligibility.

Those eligible will have their information forwarded to the RideChoice contractor who will set up an account for them.

The value of the RideChoice card is $100 per month. A customer will make payments of $25 per month, and the town will pay $75.

The limited funding is what would cause the town and Valley Metro to impose the cap. Any more than 40 applications and there would be a waiting list set up for those wanting to use the service.

Valley Metro works with about eight companies who subcontract as the program’s transportation providers.

Ron Brooks with Valley Metro said there have been a number of inquiries regarding the service in Fountain Hills, but as of council presentation last week they had not processed any applications.

Brooks said since the program does not begin until July 1, they did not want to get ahead of the service by issuing cards before they could be used.

The council approved a resolution authorizing a transit services agreement with Valley Metro on a 6-1 vote.

Councilman Tait Elkie was the dissenting vote.

“I have concerns about long-term funding for this program,” Elkie said. “I believe the $60,000 per year could be better used in-house. This could end up costing us more in the long run.

“I think we can do better.”