Proposed changes to Sarasota's on-demand transit fares add mileage fee

If approved at a public hearing on June 3, some — but not all — riders of Sarasota County’s Breeze OnDemand transit system will pay more to let someone else do the driving.

Sarasota County Commissioners last week advanced to a public hearing a new fare structure, adding a mileage charge and increasing the base fare from $2 to $3. But, as part of the changes, companions who book the same ride at the same time will no longer pay their own fare, but a flat $1 fare. Passengers who ride as part of the transportation-disadvantaged program would still pay $1.50 regardless of distance. Changes would take effect July 1.

When launched in 2021, the on-demand system — run similar to services such as Uber or Lyft but within three defined zones around the county — operated on money saved by eliminating unproductive bus routes. Now, four years later, with 386,000 trips conducted in 2024, costs to run the service exceed the level of savings found by killing off the fixed routes, such as a route that served Longboat Key.

As originally proposed to commissioners, the additional charge would have applied to the first mile. Commissioner Ron Cutsinger was the first of three to recommend applying the mileage charge only after the third mile.

As approved under the new plan, On Demand riders would pay:

• A $3 base fare that would cover the first 3 miles;
• A $1 fee for each of 3 additional miles, up to a maximum of 6;
• A companion fare of $1 a person (for each of up to four people), for those who booked a seat on the same reservation for the same ride as the base rider.

“It would be a little bit expensive if this only includes 1 mile, and they’re doing 2 or 3 miles,’’ Cutsinger said, urging a less costly alternative.

In terms of actual rides:

• An 18-mile round trip from Longboat Key’s Bayfront Park to the Regal Hollywood movie theaters on Main Street in downtown Sarasota would cost $12, up from the previous fare of $4.
•  The same price would apply to the 12-mile round trip from the park to St. Armands Circle.
• But anything shorter, say, a ride from Bayfront Park to Longboat Key Town Hall, would eliminate the mileage charge and go to $3.
• To compare, that same ride from Bayfront Park to the movie theater cost between $17 and $38 with Lyft on a recent Friday morning.
• A ride from the middle of Lido Key to the Payne Park Tennis Center in Sarasota is about 5 miles each way, which wouldn’t trigger the proposed mileage fee. That ride would cost $2 now, and $3 if the new plan is approved.
•  On a recent Friday morning, that ride in a Lyft would cost between $13 and $31.

Transit Director Jane Grogg showed commissioners a projection of new revenue with the originally proposed base plus first-mile fare, moving from about $635,000 to around $1.82 million. Under the plan moved ahead, supported unanimously by commissioners, the average fare would be somewhat lower. And, as part of the projection, Breeze is assuming a 5% drop in ridership, based on the higher fares.

“Micro transit is, of course, is a fairly new type of transit service and difficult to predict that reaction,’’ Grogg said.

No price changes are envisioned for 13 of Breeze’s 14 fixed-bus routes, but one of its most popular choices would become a free ride if also approved in June.

Route 99, which links downtown Sarasota and downtown Bradenton, largely along Tamiami Trail, would likely drop its $1.50 fare beginning in July.

Manatee and Sarasota counties run cooperatively the route, popular with students along the corridor and workers in both directions. But Manatee County’s bus service is free system-wide and honors Sarasota’s fares while across the county line.

But . . .

“Manatee County would prefer not to do any of the cash handling in Sarasota County any more, as they have stopped doing cash handling on all of the rest of their routes,’’ Grogg said.

Both counties recently received a Florida Department of Transportation grant covering the costs of the corridor-serving route, prompting Manatee to suggest Sarasota use their portion of the money to subsidize fares. Commissioners approved moving that recommendation to a June public hearing as well.

“I would love to see those buses full; I’d love to see them used,’’ Cutsinger said. “I know it’s our No. 1 corridor, I know we get a lot of people on that route, but I would be all in, especially if we’re getting some grant money to cover that.’’

Grogg said Breeze bookkeeping would reflect the ride isn’t free, but being paid for passenger by passenger by the state. “I wanted to make that nuance,’’ she said.

Signs aboard the Route 99 buses likely will carry some kind of notice explaining why the fares disappeared on July 1, commissioners agreed. Grogg said if grant money unexpectedly dried up in years to come, so would the free rides.