County-wide on-demand transportation services launch on June 5

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL – Sarasota County Area Transit is launching its new mobility service plan on June 5.

The goal of “OnDemand by Sarasota County” is to eliminate and modify repair routes that are underperforming, improve schedule performance, and expand curb-to-curb service, SCAT said in a statement. Press release.

It will serve four specialty areas and operate much like ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft. These areas include:

• North Port
• Longboat Key, Lido Key, and downtown Sarasota
• Venice and Englewood
• Nap key

The service changes are part of a series of recommendations that followed an 18-month assessment of current SCAT operations.

“I look forward to implementing the new services that have been supported by the County Commission, while building on our successes,” said SCAT Director Jane Grogg. “Our goal is to continue to provide the highest quality service, while offering new public transportation choices to the community.”

Curb-to-curb routes for this new service will be available from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Each ride will cost $ 1.25 and rides can be paid for using an online registration service, an app, or by paying the driver cash. Reservations are required to use this service.

Additional changes to public transport effective June 5 include the elimination of fixed routes 1A, 4, 11, 16, 18, 23, 26, 28, 40 and 100.

Changes will also be made to the routes and schedules of Fixed Routes 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 and 30.

SCAT’s most popular routes – 6, 12, 17, 33, 99 and the Siesta Key Breeze – will operate with just a few schedule changes.

Customers can request a ride through a mobile app, which is available in app stores for iPhone and Android devices, online at scgov.net/OnDemand, or by calling a dedicated call center at 941-300-1553 after the June 5 launch date. Customers can also email their questions to [email protected].

To learn more about SCAT service and routes, call the Sarasota County Contact Center at 941-861-5000 or visit scgov.net.