Longboat Key bus service changes: All aboard?

On-demand bus service is coming to Longboat Key in April from one of the two bus services running on the island. 

Its implementation has some riders and island employers concerned.

Manatee County Area Transit plans to offer a customized shuttle system that allows Longboat riders to arrange to be picked up at home by an MCAT bus.

William Steele, division manager for the Manatee County Public Works Department, said on-demand bus delivery will require passengers to plan ahead. Commuters will have to call a day ahead to arrange a ride or reserve one at a regular time through their employers.

“That’s a door-to-door type service,” Steele said. “It will be the same fare but a different service.”

Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce President Gail Loefgren worries the new service won’t take care of all bus riders on the island.

“I think there are going to be people who fall through the cracks,” she said. “If employers don’t put their name on the check-in, employees could miss a bus and won’t get to work. Or they hire someone totally new and forget to add their name.”

Roughly 25 representatives, including many from major Longboat employers, attended a new bus plan introductory meeting Oct. 11 at Longboat Key Town Hall. Companies at the meeting included Publix, Michael Saunders & Co., Harry’s Continental Kitchen, Zota Beach Resort, Amore Restaurant, Longboat Key Club and Blue Dolphin Café.

Georgina Clamage, branch manger at Michael Saunders & Co., said the change in bus service will affect at least one of her employees. Her biggest concern about on-demand service is how flexible MCAT will be with rider needs.

“They need to ensure they can satisfy or be responsive to requests,” Clamage said. “That seemed to be a concern at the meeting.”

Clamage suggested MCAT augment its on-demand plans with an automatic bus schedule with a ride at the start of the work day and one at the end.

“I certainly applaud (Sarasota County Area Transit) and MCAT for taking the initiative to improve their schedules in the hopes it will increase their ridership,” she said.

Evan VandePolder, 46, a 24-year Publix front service associate, said he plans to continue using the service. He now rides a bike and a bus to get to work after deciding to go carless in 2000.

He said he appreciates saving money and not having the hassles of owning a car, but the bus brings its own problems.

“I don’t enjoy everything about riding a bus,” VandePolder said. “It runs behind schedule in season. Often, you wonder when the next bus is coming.”

Allowances for bus riders such as VandePolder must be made during heavy seasonal traffic, Steele acknowledged. Even on custom rides, travelers need to be ready to go at an appointed time.

MCAT bus frequency will be determined by demand, Steele said.

“The difference is you’re not running that bus, according to a schedule, whether you need it or not,” he said.

SCAT does not plan to offer on-demand rides for now.

But shortened bus routes are on the way after SCAT reported a 17% decline in ridership from 2015-16 after dropping 6,178 riders to 29,615 from 35,793 a year earlier.

During the same time period, MCAT reported a similar slump with ridership down 5,319 passengers, or 16%, going from 32,566 to 28,885.

SCAT plans to continue its regular route times but shorten its northernmost destination from Coquina Beach to Bay Isles in Longboat Key, according to Director Rocky Burke. All SCAT buses to Longboat Key terminate at a Sarasota transfer station at 150 N. Lemon Ave.

On-demand MCAT and regular SCAT bus riders can make connections at a bus stop in Publix on Shoppes at Bay Isles, 523 Bay Isles Parkway. 

Increasing passenger demand elsewhere is forcing Manatee County to refocus how resources are used from low-ridership areas such as Longboat Key to more heavily trafficked areas on Manatee Avenue and in Cortez, Steele said.

SCAT and MCAT spend $1 million annually to serve a relatively small area along Longboat Key, Steele said.

“But the people who work out here in Longboat Key, we don’t want to leave them behind,” he said.

Now, MCAT runs between Coquina Beach and the Resort on Longboat Key Club. SCAT connects a Coquina Beach parking area to the downtown Sarasota transfer station on Lemon Avenue. Shortening the routes will eliminate a service overlap.

“Big buses, relatively small ridership every hour, not all that well used,” said Town Manager David Bullock. “We don’t think we have the best model of transit to fit this community. The transit system is carrying a lot of air.”