Rogelio Hernandez, Director of Transportation for Key West Transit, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on with traffic.
With the Key West budget talks underway, could Key West Transit be looking at any cuts?
Hernandez said, “Unfortunately, Key West Transit is facing a $3 million deficit coming into FY 26 and that starts, of course, October 1 through September 30 of 2026 and unfortunately, that deficit is unsustainable, and it’s something we have to address urgently. We are taking some practice steps again by my team and a group of leaders in finding additional revenue and funding. We’re reaching out to the state and federal government, which has helped us out in the past. We’re reaching out to local government Monroe County, and we’re also searching for new local revenue sources to bridge that funding gap. We have an item on the agenda coming up tomorrow, actually, August 6, and that item is to amend the contract we have with Message Point Media, who provides the hosting and service for our onboard display systems, which provides ADA information, next bus arrival and whatnot onboard those busses. I believe that there is revenue to be made there by advertising on the bus. We’re going to be using our company that we already work with, and they’re going to be providing that service. So I think that’s a good source of local revenue, new source of revenue that we can look forward to and be able to use in the future to offset operating costs.”
Will there be cutbacks?
Hernandez said, “The city Key West and the Transportation Department, we’re committed to transparency and keeping the community informed. So as of right now, the Duval loop is the first service on the chopping block, and that’s due to its minimal impact to local riders. The majority of the riders on that service, is visitors, but that would be the first service that we would possibly look at eliminating, along with eliminating the Key West Rides on demand service. I know this is a bad time because Monroe County has also decommissioned their Conch Connect service. The Key West Rides is at risk of being discontinued. However, nothing set in stone just yet. My team and I, along with the city leaders, are looking at every possible avenue to keep these services that the public wants and needs, up and running.”
The Florida Public Transportation Association met recently.
Hernandez said, “It’s a nonprofit organization that supports and advocates for advancements in public transportation in Florida, and FPTA represents Key West Transit at the state level, lobbying for increased funding policies and support of public transportation. So they do a great job at that. Key West Transit had the opportunity of hosting the FPTA third quarter board meeting here, which I’m a member of, and my team and I were able to connect with dozens of other leaders from transit agencies across the state, along with businesses and other stakeholders to share information and collaborate on industry issues such as, funding sources, shortage of funding from state and federal level. So it was a productive meeting, and that occurred also in July.”
What other items are on the city commission agenda?
Hernandez said, “I have a request for procurement of a charging station for our battery electric bus, which, by the way, is still scheduled to be delivered at the end of the year. So fingers crossed on that. Another item we have is the Genfare Link, cloud based system. The agenda includes a proposal for procurement. Now that system it’s intended to replace our current out dated system, and what that does is enables the agency, us to gather important data like ridership, revenue collection on the bus, while streamlining the reconciliation process. So each bus has a fare box or a point of sale system on board, and that’s where the money gets collected. That’s where the ridership data gets collected. This system allows us to retrieve that and helps with the reconciliation process as well, too. Our current system is outdated and obsolete. It’s about 20 years old, and the computer that that currently that runs that software, it’s about seven years old, so it’s time for a change. Additionally, that upgrade will also facilitate the acceptance of credit cards, debit cards, Apple pay and Google Pay on the busses, and that’s something that our riders have been asking for, because at the moment, it’s cash only on board.”
The Key West Transit’s overall expenses was roughly $5.2 million last year, but that’s up to $7 million now for 2026.
Hernandez said, “It is a huge hit. But I’ve noticed time after time that we always come through, whether it’s through the state funding or federal funding, we’ll figure it out, and I believe the team and I in the city will find a path to take that will reduce the amount of impact to our riders and the residents.”
For more information, click here: www.kwtransit.com