I am updating you, interested readers on the status of the Palmetto Bay Freebee service.
A source has updated me on the status of the Palmetto Bay Freebee. I am providing the updates to my blog
readers. My source advises that Palmetto Bay's Freebee
service could be up and running very quickly if the Council will approve the
Contract at the February council meeting. (It was confirmed that we could have been up and running in December, 2018, but the village requested changes in the contract. These discussions commenced at about the New Year, post-election).
It is my understanding that there have been no changes in pricing from
the May 2018 discussions, unless there is a change in service, and that is
apparently being discussed. The Town of Miami
Lakes is rolling out a larger Freebee passenger vehicle, a 6 to 9 max passenger
version. Palmetto Bay may be interested in upgrading to this larger capacity vehicle. The upgrade would not be ready for a February
launch. Commencing with the larger vehicle service would cause a 60 to 90 day
delay in initiating service, however, Palmetto Bay could start with the
standard vehicles and then upgrade to the larger vehicles when ready.
A December launch would have provided the Village experience to judge whether the ridership would justify the larger vehicle, rather than jumping right into higher capacity, higher cost.
There will be an increase in overall service cost for Palmetto Bay if the Village opts to run with the larger vehicles (which may be worth it, but this should be publicly disclosed and discussed as to the expectations, the wants and needs of our residents).
I was also told that at the present time, there is no ability for the
Freebee service to operate on the buslanes/transitway (as the IBus currently operates),
but there are ongoing discussions relating to obtaining permission. Such operations would be designed more to
avoid the traffic congestion on US1. My source is also unaware of any
discussions to use this vehicle outside the Village jurisdiction, e.g., from
the Village all the way to the Metrorail, to the Datran South station. Current plans and County permissions remain
that the Freebee would operate within the Village, and venturing to close major destinations including the Falls Shopping
Center and including the Jackson South Hospital/medical complex.
I formally request that this Manager, Mayor and Council cease any
further delays and get the contract (or whatever documents that the council deem necessary to be approve in order to justify the past delays) approved at the February
council meeting so this service can begin without further delay.
More recommended reading - a Miami Herald article by Douglas Hanks, Jan. 16, 2019: Looser rules on transit tax bringing ‘Freebee’ shuttles to cities. Is Uber next
Thank you for your interest,
Eugene Flinn
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