After pumping the brakes on a Freebee rideshare expansion in Islamorada last month, village council members now want to see if other companies are interested in providing the service.
Members on the dais dealt with the rideshare topic a few times dating back to last December, when the newly-seated council verbally agreed to accept grant money from the state for Freebee service. But during a Sept. 7 meeting, the dais agreed to pull resolutions officially accepting the funds and renewing an agreement with Freebee from the agenda. The request came from Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney, who wished to have a public workshop and give residents the ability to provide input on the service, which she believed needed to be more efficient and cost-effective.
Fast forward to the Oct. 3 workshop. Council members verbally agreed to form an evaluation committee composed of residents to rate the service providers interested in applying to transport residents and visitors in Islamorada. A resolution to formally create the group and its framework could come before the village council at an early November meeting, kicking off a request for proposals process.
For the last three months, Mahoney said she’s monitored the service from Freebee, which currently operates 10 hours each day for a total of 70 hours a week. The Miami-based company began in the village with electric golf cart rides on Upper Matecumbe under a pilot program in 2018. Freebee brought its on-request transit service with goals to reduce vehicles on a busy U.S. 1 while providing a green alternative for residents and tourists to visit businesses. In 2020, the service expanded to all islands.
Today, two Tesla vehicles and one van serve riders from Lower Matecumbe Key to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier. Per an August Freebee presentation, some 130,000 passengers have used the on-demand, door-to-door service in Islamorada since its inception. Data by Freebee shows 63% of riders were locals and 37% were visitors. Of the passengers, 41% were 21-34 years old and 30.8% were over the age of 51.
During the workshop, Mahoney questioned whether the village is getting the “full service” and benefit from Freebee, which receives $371,000 annually per its current contract. Funds paid to Freebee through the agreement come from the half-cent sales tax, not property taxes.
Over the past few months, Mahoney worked with Attention Media on a survey — which first went out to registered voters in the village and eventually to other members of the public — to gauge how the community felt about the service. Mahoney acknowledged she isn’t seeking to do away with the service. Rather, she believes taxpayers shouldn’t foot the full bill.
“I want the public to have a say where we go with this,” she said. “Let’s do what’s best for the residents.”
During the survey process, Mahoney said she received a call from Islamorada resident Jim Lashley. He said he didn’t want to sit back and complain about the money spent with Freebee. Instead, Lashley said he wanted to take part and make a difference. He said the service should go out to bid.
“I’m not against Freebee and rideshare; I just think we’re paying a fortune for something,” he said. “I said I’d stop complaining and get involved.”
Per village code, the council could waive competitive bidding for services such as ridesharing if the members feel it’s in the best interest of the village. In addition, the village received word last March that a grant to fund an expansion of services through Freebee was approved for $276,665. At the direction of the current council last December, staff proceeded on a transit grant through the Florida Department of Transportation.
To qualify for the funds, the village had to show an expansion of services or cars, according to Maria Bassett, finance director. The village decided to show an extension of hours with Freebee from 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.
Annual costs with the expansion would total $553,330 with a FDOT grant funding half the cost. While expenses would increase, staff said the village’s share would decrease by $65,839. The grant acceptance and a new agreement with Freebee went before the council but wasn’t approved during a Sept. 7 meeting.
During the workshop, Mahoney acknowledged she didn’t know the grant had to stay with one company and couldn’t be applied to another service provider, if the village council went that direction.
The council could still consider the grant and new agreement with Freebee to expand the service. If the dais wants to go with a different provider, they could end the agreement with Freebee at any time and begin a whole new grant process in 2024 to potentially receive funds in 2025. Bassett said Freebee co-founder and managing partner Jason Spiegel has been working to find drivers for the service expansion in Islamorada.
Lashley said locals who use the service could hypothetically pay $2 for a fare, with visitors paying $5. He said it would generate north of $100,000 in revenue. He also believed the village should seek more grant money.
Council member Mark Gregg questioned whether the objective was saving the village money or figuring out who specifically should foot the funds for the service.
“We’ve kind of set out some expectations in the community by having this program going on for this long, and it’s called Freebee for a reason, because it’s free,” he said.
Council member Elizabeth Jolin said she believed it’s part of a larger conversation of who’s being served.
“If we’re serving people who are elderly and need to get to work, that’s a group of people,” she said. “And if we’re serving a tourist community or a secondary homeowner, that’s another conversation and they’re intertwined.”
Mayor Buddy Pinder said he’d like to see the “bigger corporate guys” who’ve come to the Keys and bought hotels to foot some of the cost since tourists are using Freebee to get to restaurants and bars.
“They can (and) they should,” he said.
