After facing delays, a new free ride service is coming to Boca Raton

Boca Raton may soon have a transit service taking people to and from city destinations, all at no cost.

But it’s taken some time to implement the plan — a process that some City Council members feel has dragged on too long.

Under the plan, trips could be offered in downtown Boca Raton, and riders may request and track their rides through an app, similar to popular transit services such as Uber and Lyft.

At a recent meeting, Boca Council members Yvette Drucker and Monica Mayotte voiced their frustrations that the city hasn’t offered the service sooner.

“I’m very disappointed that it’s taken us almost a year, actually, from when we started these conversations,” Drucker said at the meeting. “Other cities that are much smaller than the City of Boca Raton with a lot less staff get things done a lot faster.”

Mayotte cited a new “circulator” service in Lake Worth Beach, saying it “beat Boca Raton to the punch.”

“And they don’t have a Brightline station,” Mayotte said during the meeting.

The city solicited bids in November for qualified companies to come forward and work with the city to provide the transit service, similar to how a business might put forth job applications for new hires.

During the workshop, City Manager George Brown said the city has to negotiate a contract with whichever vendor they select to provide the services and then review the contract, which is the process the city is in now.

Then in April, the City Council is set to be presented with the contract that will establish a relationship between the city and the vendor that will providing the service.

Drucker, who calls herself the “transit champion,” said the city is months behind schedule. “It was supposed to be January implementation,” she said during a council workshop. “I want us to be ready to show what this is, and whoever we decide to go to, I want it to be damn good for our community because if not, I’m not going to agree to it.”

Mayotte told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that she and Drucker had hoped to see the city test out a transit service during the city’s busy season when snowbirds typically flock to South Florida, which is roughly between Thanksgiving and Easter, she said.

“This has all been way too long,” Mayotte said. “We should have had this in place a long time ago.”

‘On-demand mobility services’

Under the “Downtown On-Demand Mobility Services” initiative, rides within the downtown area limits could be provided at no cost, but the city may decide to charge riders for the service if the ride starts or ends outside of the downtown, according to city documents.

The type of vehicles used for the service could be anything from “electric golf-cart-style vehicles” or “hybrid vehicles,” though other types could also be employed. Electric or hybrid vehicles are preferred to cut down on carbon emissions, according to city documents.

The city suggested the service be available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday, from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday. These times are when the city deems activity to be highest, but they could be adjusted based on “seasonal demands.”

The council initially began talking about bringing a circulator service — essentially a system that distributes people or traffic through a downtown area — before Boca Raton received its Brightline station in 2022, but the council decided to wait until the station was situated to see what the Brightline would or would not provide, Mayotte said.

“It’s almost like hailing a cab,” she said.

The Boca Raton Brightline station did provide a shuttle service exclusively for Brightline customers beginning in December 2022 offering “affordable eco-friendly rides” from the station to the city’s “favorite spots” including the Museum of Art, Royal Palm Place and Mizner Park, according to the service’s website.

But that service is no longer in the city, and a Brightline spokesperson declined to comment on why, instead saying Brightline’s last-mile services are based on “local partnerships and customer preferences.”

The stations in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami have “neighborhood electric vehicles” offering first- and last-mile services run by Circuit, according to the Brightline’s website. That’s the same company that previously provided Boca Raton’s services.

Drucker detailed the issue at the recent workshop. “We know Brightline removed Circuit from the Brightline station because it wasn’t being utilized. So we had that data already.” Of the new service, she expects it to be “the most impactful for our community.”

The next regular City Council meeting is on April 9, which will take place after Mayotte is replaced by newly elected former Council member Andy Thomson, and Drucker’s term is renewed.

“I’m hoping that the council gets an opportunity to weigh in on what the final requirements (are) that are being satisfied in the contract before it’s approved,” Mayotte said. “We’ll see.”

At a recent meeting, Brown said the city already is looking at how the procurement process for contracts can possibly be done more efficiently. As for the new ride service? “It is our intention to implement as soon as we have the go-ahead, and hopefully that implementation will take place within less than six weeks, after we do the go-ahead,” Brown said.

Drucker told the Sun Sentinel on Friday that once the contract is signed, the service indeed will start as quickly as possible. It will be run as a pilot program first, she said.