Downtown Orlando wants to add new on-demand shuttle service
ORLANDO, Fla. - A new on-demand shuttle service could be coming to the streets of downtown Orlando.
The Downtown Orlando Community Redevelopment Agency's advisory board met on May 22 to discuss a possible new business venture, dubbed "Ride DTO" – a shuttle service that would allow riders to request pick-up and drop-off around the downtown Orlando area, according to documents obtained by FOX 35.
According to a spokesperson for the City of Orlando, the Ride DTO service is expected to launch in fall 2024. The plans are set to go before the Orlando City Council for approval on June 10.
Photo: Circuit
Circuit Transit, Inc., a micro-transit company founded in 2011, was selected to provide five electric shuttle vehicles in the downtown Orlando area. Visitors, residents and local workers can use the Circuit app to request a pick-up or drop-off for $1 per ride, documents show. The shuttles will run for 10 hours a day, seven days a week, with a maximum of 70 hours per vehicle per week.
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The on-demand ride program would cost downtown Orlando nearly $600,000 a year, according to Downtown Orlando Community Redevelopment Area officials.
Photo: Circuit
Why does the city want this shuttle service? They want to "(expand) transit options available to residents and visitors and notes the need to seek solutions to improve parking accessibility and options for downtown patrons, including the use of innovative solutions," documents said. Additionally, this program would help retaining small businesses in the area, which would in turn "ensure the success of the redevelopment within downtown Orlando."
Map of service area for Ride DTO, on-demand shuttle service (Photo: City of Orlando)
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"The purpose of the Ride DTO program is to improve accessibility and transit options, thereby also encouraging the retention of downtown businesses by increasing consumer spending and visitation in the Area, by temporarily funding on-demand rideshare within the Area," according to the agency.
Photo: Circuit
FOX 35 is working to get more details about the next steps and when this program could come to life.
News of this new shuttle service comes months after the autonomous Swan shuttle service, which launched in downtown Orlando in August, was suspended indefinitely after a minor crash with a Lynx bus in September.