As our region continues to grow and traffic keeps increasing, area transit organizations are trying to figure out how to serve Florida’s booming population.
Adrián Reynoso recently found himself at the Jobs Express bus terminal on Gatlin Boulevard in Port St. Lucie.
His car was out of service, but a neighbor told him about the area’s transit options.
“I’m really fortunate because I know we’ve been going through tough times lately,” Reynoso said.
He was waiting Wednesday to get a ride through the county’s Area Regional Transit (ART).
“I’ll use it as long as I can,” Reynoso said. “It’s temporary, and it’s a good stepping stone to get where you need to go, especially when you get where you need to be and improve your life.”
Right now, ART is working on its new five-year transit plan.
Transit Director Adolfo Covelli said his biggest challenge is providing transportation for everyone in a 600-square-mile county.
“We have transit along US 1… and on our busy roads like St. Lucie West and Gatlin Boulevard,” Covelli said. “Our biggest issue is providing service in the northwest section of the county, east of US 1, where we don’t have transit options right now. We’re trying to fill those gaps.”
Since its funding depended on ridership numbers, the transit service went fare-free in 2018, and ridership tripled.
The next year, it took a page from Uber and Lyft and developed a micro-transit network.
“As long as point A and point B—the origin and destination—are within that zone, we handle about 4,000 trips here between the two zones,” Covelli said.
A new service called Port St. Lucie Express is set to launch in May, connecting Port St. Lucie and West Palm Beach. That service will cost $3.
“It will have two morning services and two afternoon services to downtown West Palm Beach, where you can connect with Palm Tran, Brightline, or Tri-Rail,” Covelli said.
Right now, ART is gathering resident feedback through the end of the month.
Click here if you have a suggestion or a route request.
Image: Wflx
