Commissioners plan to double the price of a rideshare service, but make a well-traveled bus route fare-free.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: May 7, 2025
Host: The Sarasota County Commission is sending mixed messages about transit. Many transit authorities in the United States, including in neighboring Manatee County, are offering free rides to boost passenger numbers. At a meeting Tuesday, the Sarasota commissioners decided to hike fares for an on-demand service but to go free on the county’s most traveled fixed bus route.
Johannes Werner: The commissioners set the stage to vote in June to more than double Breeze OnDemand fares from the current $1.50. The new base fare is now $3, with an additional dollar per mile for trips longer than three miles. Breeze staffers expect the average fare to be more than $5.
OnDemand is a shared small-van service users can call. It is offered mostly in areas where fixed-route service is thin.
At the same meeting, commissioners responded positively to a staff suggestion to make the 99 route fare-free, using a state grant. Route 99, running up and down the US 41 corridor every half hour, is shared with Manatee County’s transit agency, which has been offering free rides on all their routes since last year.
It seems the Sarasota county commissioners will be voting in June in favor of offering free rides on the county’s most popular route.
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger:
Ron Cutsinger: I would wholeheartedly support joining with Manatee County in making that free. I would love to see those buses full. I’d love to see them being used. I know we get a lot of people on that ride, but I would be all-in, especially if we’re getting some grant money to cover that.
Commissioner Teresa Mast agrees with the free rides, but wants signs in buses to tell passengers that the free rides may be over when the state grant disappears.
Reporting for WSLR News, Johannes Werner.
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