Rogelio Hernandez, the Director of Transportation with Key West Transit, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about traffic.
The Seven Mile Bridge will be closed to all traffic from 6am to 9am this Saturday.
It will also affect the Lower Keys Shuttle.
Hernandez said, “The Lower Keys Shuttle service will be delayed until after 9am, so the first bus leaving Marathon heading southbound will be at 9:21 that morning, starting at Sadowski Causeway, heading southbound, then the northbound bus departs Key West at 9:26am, from Whitehead and Eaton street. So that’s one thing I want our riders and the listeners to be aware of. So Saturday, April 11, Seven Mile Bridge run, the service will be delayed until now after 9am.”
With fuel prices rising, public transportation can really help.
Hernandez said, “The Lower Keys Shuttle is a reliable and affordable transportation service that we’ve offered since 2005 connecting the all the Keys, the chain of Keys between Key West and Marathon so that route operates seven days a week, same schedule, and really it’s one of the most cost effective way to move around the Keys. The fare has not increased in quite some time now, at least over seven years. It’s currently $4 each way, or $25 for a seven day pass that you can use unlimited and then there’s also reduced fare. So if you’re a senior over the age of 60, if you’re a student under the age of 21 or if you’re disabled or active or retired military, then you pay a lesser fee than the $4. It’s actually $2 and $1 for seniors. So it’s, again, really cost effective. At the moment, there is no conversations about increasing the rate on the Lower Keys Shuttle.”
The electric bus could also be a big help.
Hernandez said, “Oh yes, and that bus will be out in service here probably within the next 60 days. We just went through some driver training, which is extremely important on an electric bus, as well as mechanics being trained on how to perform maintenance on that bus, because we’re talking about high voltage here. So yeah, we’re slowly but surely getting that bus ready for riders to enjoy and use. It’ll stay within the Key West and Stock Islands. The capacity is 32 seating and 20 standing. So it can hold quite a bit comfortably.”
It’s also extremely quiet.
Hernandez said, “This is really a pilot program we’re going to see because Key West is a bit different than everywhere else around the nation. Salt water environment, the roads. We’re going to be testing this bus out and analyzing the data we will be collecting the next couple of years and determine if that’s the route that we should be taking moving forward when replacing our current fleet, or if a hybrid is a better option, or our current regular clean diesel.”
How do ridership numbers look this year?
Hernandez said, “On Key West Rides, we actually broke our own record back in January with 16,700 trip requests on our on demand service. And it was super exciting, because we’ve been operating now for over three years. However, last month, we beat our record once again, with 17,900 requests. So we’ve been extremely busy on the Lower Keys, the Workforce and the Key West Rides.”
There is also a new development in terms of paratransit.
Hernandez said, “The city of Key West will be standing up its own ADA complimentary paratransit service for people who can’t use the fixed route public transportation system, like the Workforce route, because of their disability. So this will be a door to door service, and the trips will have to be scheduled a day in advance, and those that are interested in the service will be required to submit an application and meet eligibility. So it’s a bit different than our current fixed route system and our on demand service that we provide the Key West rides. However, it is a much needed service, and more information will be posted on our website, especially regarding the upcoming public meetings that we’ll be having on this service.”
For more information, click here: https://kwtransit.passiogo.com/