By Mary Hladky
Get ready to ride.
The city has hired Circuit Transit Inc., a Fort Lauderdale-based national shuttle company, to ferry passengers around Boca Raton’s core areas. Service was expected to start in mid to late June.
City Council members had pushed city staff to get a shuttle service up and running ever since the Brightline station opened in late 2022. After they voiced frustration in March that the city still had not inked a deal, staff hustled to finalize a contract with Circuit for an April 9 vote.
“We have arrived. I am so happy. I pushed for this for a really, really, really long time,” said Deputy Mayor Yvette Drucker.
She urged City Manager George Brown to heavily market the service, and he assured her that the city would.
“In order to be successful, people need to know the service is out there,” Drucker said.
Municipal Services Director Zachary Bihr told council members that service was expected to start in late May, but that date since has been pushed back as vehicle designs are evaluated and finalized.
Council members hope the service will allow the city to better capitalize on Brightline.
They have said repeatedly that they want to give passengers a reason to get off the train in Boca Raton and patronize the city’s restaurants, stores, parks and cultural attractions.
Easily accessible transportation from the station to these destinations could help that happen.
But Brightline, which had hired Circuit to carry its passengers to and from the station and Mizner Park, recently discontinued that service due to low ridership.
The city has had shuttle services in the past, most notable the Downtowner, an on-demand electric vehicle service that operated for several years before leaving at the end of 2016.
But previous city councils were unwilling to subsidize the service, so the companies had to rely on fare and advertising revenue. None could make a go of it and they eventually ended service.
This time, the city will pay Circuit $395,728 for the first year of operation. The amount can be recalculated in future years.
The service is being launched as a one-year pilot project that can be extended.
Circuit, whose service proposal was judged by city staff as the best of five submitted, will provide the city with three types of all-electric vehicles — six-seaters known as GEM, sedans and vans.
Residents can download the Circuit app to book rides and find out when to expect pickup.
All rides must begin or end in the downtown area, defined as within the boundaries of the Community Redevelopment Agency and including the Downtown Library, Brightline station and Wildflower and Silver Palm parks.
The overall shuttle service area will run from Glades Road to the south city limits, and from Interstate 95 to Fifth Avenue/Royal Palm Way.
Trips in the downtown will be free for residents and non-residents.
A rider going from the downtown to the rest of the service area, or vice versa, will pay $2 per trip. Each additional rider will pay $1, with a fare cap of $5 per ride.
Riders will not be able to book a ride from one location outside the downtown to another outside location.
The shuttles will be available Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. These times can be adjusted, based on demand.
The city has identified locations that could be added to the service area in the future. These are the Yamato Road Tri-Rail station, Spanish River Library, Florida Atlantic University, Town Center mall, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, and Red Reef, South Beach, Sugar Sand, Patch Reef and South Inlet parks.
Beachside service left out
Beachside residents living in the Sun and Surf, Riviera and Por La Mar neighborhoods between the Intracoastal Waterway and State Road A1A are lobbying the City Council to expand the service to them as soon as possible. Newly elected Council member Andy Thomson made the same pitch at the April 9 meeting.
Beachside was left out because the city officials had specified in the contract that ride wait times cannot exceed 10 minutes. But that could not be guaranteed for Beachside because of transit delays caused by the opening and closing of the Intracoastal drawbridges.
Katie Barr MacDougall, president of the Riviera Civic Association, which advocates for Beachside residents, said members understand the service is intended to promote the downtown.
“But I would venture to say that barrier island condo and single family residents make use of the downtown amenities more than any other group in the city,” she said in an email.
In South Florida, Circuit is providing service in Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, West Palm Beach, Wilton Manors and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
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