By Sallie James
A free, on-call electric cart service may be coming to Boca Raton’s downtown as an alternative mode of transportation to ease a chronic parking crunch.
The owner of Delray Beach’s Downtowner has expressed interest in expanding his service into Boca. The city is waiting to receive a proposal in writing.
The electric cars were just one of several ideas addressing mobility challenges that were discussed during the Feb. 9 Community Redevelopment Agency meeting.
Other suggestions included updating a downtown transit study to include new usage statistics for a downtown shuttle, a downtown circulator route and the not-yet-built Tri-Rail station near Military Trail and Glades Road.
During that meeting, the Downtowner’s owner Steve Murray voiced interest in providing electric cart service to Boca, noting that his business already moves about 16,000 people a month in Delray Beach.
“The parking in Boca is even more of an issue than it is in Delray,” Murray told city officials. “We are a service needed here.”
Murray started the popular Downtowner in Delray Beach three years ago.
The electric cart rides are free. Riders book their rides and tip drivers using a mobile phone app. Cost of the cart service is paid for by advertisers who purchase wrap-around ads that adorn individual electric carts.
The service specializes in providing many trips in a small geographic area.
“If you are a mile from Mizner there is no reason you should be driving to Mizner,” Murray told CRA members. “We are really effective transportation.”
We will pick you up at your house and take you to the door of the restaurant,” Murray said.
The city will be pursuing grant money for downtown transit opportunities as well as South Florida Regional Transit Authority partnerships.
During the meeting, Downtown Boca Raton Advisory Committee vice chairman Mary Czar suggested the city review routes, operating times and ridership on shuttle routes operating throughout the city.
All are well-used with high ridership, she noted.
New alternatives could include a Tri-Rail shuttle from downtown Boca to the Tri-Rail station on Yamato Road and a Downtown circulator route that would include Federal Highway, Palmetto Park Road and Mizner Boulevard.
A 2010 study estimated ridership totals at a high of more than 150,000 and that was before so much residential construction had occurred downtown. Updating that study would provide a much clearer picture of the city’s current needs.
Comments