March 7 — While Key West is pretty darn close to living in paradise, traffic can make it frustrating sometimes.
Rod Delostrinos, Director of Transportation for Key West, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on with transportation.
Key West Rides could be one solution to the crowded transportation in the city.
Delostrinos said, “Key West Rides actually was born out of a lot of the effects from the COVID 19 pandemic. We’re trying to develop a solution to the restore the transit coverage that we lost. We had to reduce some of the routes, increase frequency, and maximize the staff that we had left.”
So instead of the normal fixed routes, the transportation department went to an on-demand system, which uses an app. It consolidates the pickups and drop-offs, so it’s theoretically a little faster.
Delostrinos said, “So far it’s working out.”
It uses an algorithm to determine pickups and drop-offs.
Delostrinos said, “It sees how many people have requested a ride at that moment in time, figures out what the closest stop to those folks are and then directs the vehicle to them. Instead of picking up 10 people along 10 different stops, it would try to consolidate that, so it’s a little bit faster.”
The option is available here: https://www.kwtransit.com/
In addition to the app, residents can call in.
Congestion in Key West can be an issue.
Delostrinos said, “We’re trying to get funding and this is always a long process when you’re seeking state and federal grant money, to put a facility over our existing facility parking lot, which would provide parking, which would be a great source of revenue so that we can offset some more costs.”
Electric vehicles have also seen an increase on the roads.
Delostrinos said, “As far as we’re concerned, we’re more of the mass transit side of the house.”
The Florida Department of Transportation is a large part of the Key West Transportation Department.
Delostrinos said, “Our entire department, our existence is subsidized from our operating costs. We’re very fortunate to have such a robust program where some of our capital items like our buses are funded to 80 percent and sometimes even 100 percent depending on what the capital items are.”
Some of the buses go beyond Key West to help people in the upper Keys with transportation.
Delostrinos said, “We have the lower Keys shuttle which goes all the way into Marathon.”
The Duval loop shuttle has been incredibly successful – in fact, about a million people take advantage of it since 2017. It runs daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will take residents to Mallory Square, Truman Waterfront, the southern-most point and other stops. It’s also free.
The transportation department is always looking for employees, particularly drivers for the routes.
Delostrinos said, “Luckily lately we’ve been getting there. We’re still short, but we’re taking the measures that we can to recruit and retain the people that we already have.”
The buses are air conditioned.
Delostrinos said, “Give us a try and I think you’ll be surprised.”
For more information, click here: https://www.kwtransit.com/