Traditional funding formulas used by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to fund operations of U.S. public transit programs rely heavily on quantitative metrics such as ridership per service hour and riders per revenue mile. However, these metrics often fail to capture the full impact of transit services, particularly in rural areas where transit serves as a critical lifeline for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and workforce riders. This study explores the impact of rural demand response transit on rider quality-of-life, focusing on a program evaluation case study with the TriTown Connector, a demand-response transit (DRT) program in Southern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The TriTown Connector, serving a population of approximately 17,000 across 250 square miles, offers a unique opportunity to evaluate alternative measures of transit program effectiveness. This study uses travel diaries in conjunction with traditional surveys to assess the service's quality-of-life impacts. By exploring how collecting qualitative and quantitative rider data can assist with evaluating rural DRT impact on rider quality-of-life, we aim to understand how the service affects riders’ mobility and well-being throughout their daily lives. This study concludes that incorporating quality-of-life data collection methods into rural transit performance evaluation can provide a more comprehensive assessment of rural transit services, better reflecting their true value to the communities they serve.