Need a lift?
Monroe County launched Conch Connect, a new, on-demand, door-to-door rideshare service for Key West and Stock Island with all-electric Teslas, funded with a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation.
On July 15, Conch Connect began operating seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., offering rides in Key West and Stock Island.
Rides are $2 per person, per ride and payments are made via the Freebee app or by calling 855-918-3733. Cash is not accepted.
Conch Connect has local drivers behind the wheels of five regular Teslas and one that’s outfitted for ADA/wheelchair accessibility.
And yes, Monroe County added a fee to the rideshare service in Key West despite the name of the company it outsourced it to: Freebee, which bills itself as an eco-friendly revolution and whose marketing campaign boasts that riders “absolutely” have no cost.
Many locals didn’t care about the low price and instead cheered the arrival of Conch Connect, commenting in social media posts that the $2 cost is nominal for an on-demand rideshare service, as Uber rides range from $8 to $20 a pop. Cabs have similar costs.
“If this works out well, we would like to expand Conch Connect to other islands,” county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood told Keys Weekly. “It’s made mostly for a 7-mile radius, so it’s more for inter-island commuting, not long distances like from Big Pine to Key West.”
Livengood took a test ride with Conch Connect before it launched to the public.
“It took them three minutes to come and pick me up, but it says to give them at least a 20-minute heads-up, especially if it becomes as popular as we are hoping,” she said.
The county could add more cars in the future if the rideshare’s demand rises, she added.
Conch Connect is available to all, but those struggling without transportation, including people with disabilities, welcomed the service without complaint.
Key West may be about 2-by-4 miles in area, but not everyone without a car can ride a bicycle or other type of transportation or walk two miles in the sweltering heat on the side of the road.
So local workers commute to their jobs on bikes, trikes, e-bikes, stand-up scooters and one-wheelers, creating a mix of competing moving parts on narrow streets or the busy boulevard. And there are the slow-going golf cart rentals that have become commonplace in Key West, as many tourists now choose them over scooters.
Want to start an argument? Bring up any one of these forms of transportation — especially the speedy but silent e-bikes — in Key West and Stock Island.
People are asked to request rides at least 20 minutes in advance. All requests must be received 15 minutes before closing time at 9 p.m.
Download the app by searching for “Ride Freebee” on Apple or Google Play. For details, visit ConchConnect.org, or scan a QR code available on the website.
Freebee has been operating in Islamorada for several years, to favorable reviews.
‘The right direction’ for the Keys
The first person to use the service said it’s long overdue for the Lower Keys.
“This is certainly a move in the right direction, not just for Stock Island and Key West but all of the Florida Keys and Monroe County,” said Capt. Ted Lund of Key West.
He raved about Conch Connect in a statement the county released after he was the first rideshare customer on the service’s opening day.
Lund compared the launch of the new service to the arrival of Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad.
“Conch Connect has taken things to the next level, providing efficient, sustainable workforce transportation door to door in brand-new Tesla vehicles — with air conditioning that actually works,” Lund said.
One strength the service has is drivers who are knowledgeable locals, he added.
“The ones I have met so far, like Marc, Jeffery and Rob, have been professional drivers in town for years and it shows,” Lund said.
