Palm Tran cutting bus service areas for disabled riders. Here's where
Starting in 2026, Palm Tran will restrict its buses for disabled people to three quarters of a mile from regular routes. Palm Beach County commissioners unanimously approved that plan during their April 8 meeting.
Handicapped riders at the meeting said they feared that the new plan would make it impossible for some passengers to get rides. But Palm Tran officials said April 24 that the agency would contract with private companies to pick up disabled passengers, using specially equipped buses, outside the three-quarter-mile zone.
Palm Tran's paratransit program, Palm Tran Connection, uses buses run by the agency to pick up disabled people from virtually anywhere in Palm Beach County east of State Road 7. The reduced service area starting Jan. 1, 2026, would leave out communities in eastern Jupiter and Juno Beach, along with Singer Island in Riviera Beach and many neighborhoods west of Military Trail and south of Forest Hill Boulevard. The Americans With Disabilities Act requires public transportation agencies across the United States to provide rides within three-quarters of a mile of transit routes.
Palm Tran says it will work with companies such as Uber, Lyft and UZURV to help people outside Palm Tran Connection's smaller service area. The new service, dubbed Connection Plus, will have wheelchair-accessible buses run by those companies, Palm Tran spokeswoman Janessa Croce said Thursday, April 24.
Scheduling trips with the new service will be "similar" to the current one, Croce said. Passengers book trips online at passweb.palmtran.org, or through the Palm Tran Connection smartphone app. Anyone who wants to sign up for Palm Tran's paratransit service must start by calling the service's eligibility department at 561-649-9838, pressing option 7 and asking to speak with an "Eligibility Representative." Palm Tran Connection users book trips on the website, through the app or by calling the service.
During the April 8 County Commission meeting, Palm Tran Connection riders voiced their fears of losing service after the bus agency officials told county commissioners that their new plan would save the agency money.
Palm Tran's new plan "states we are going to cover the three-quarters of a mile and those of us who truly need the service will get the service, but I feel like this plan should be placed on hold for the moment and we should have some community meetings to figure out an alternative," said Nicole Fincham-Sheehan, disability advocate with Palm Tran, who is blind. "I also feel that the municipalities should step up and contribute to the cost of paratransit," she said.
Palm Tran officials discussed paratransit changes during their Feb. 27 meeting of its service board, whose members approved it.
Palm Tran spends $55 million annually on paratransit, agency director of administrative services Lyne Johnson told county commissioners. Each Palm Tran Connection trip costs $52, she said. Palm Tran's budget is more than $300 million. The agency did not provide an estimate on how much money it would save with Connection Plus.
Palm Tran's Connection Plus program won't be the first time the public bus operator has contracted out rides to private companies. Palm Tran cut three regular bus routes in September and launched its BusLink service, paying for Uber and taxi rides to and from parts of Palm Beach Gardens, Riviera Beach, Boca Raton and Royal Palm Beach in September. It is paying Uber up to $424,000, with an estimated savings of $2.4 million.
Last September: Palm Tran cut 3 bus routes, replaced them with Uber and taxis.
Paratransit passengers who have disabilities, but can walk and can ride regular Palm Tran buses, will be given rides to and from the nearest bus stop if they are outside the three-quarter-mile zone, Palm Tran Executive Director Ivan Maldonado said.
Palm Tran Connection's one-way fare will rise to $4, a 50-cent increase, starting in 2026. The paratransit service has charged $3.50 since 2013. That fare would remain the same for riders reporting incomes below the federal poverty line, Maldonado said.
More than 18,000 people rode Palm Tran Connection in 2024, Maldonado said, with 1,649 outside the three-quarter-mile zone.
"The customers understand now that this is partly on them to try to compromise because we have been giving them so much throughout the years and that's why we've invited them to the meetings, we've invited them to the table to talk," Palm Tran Senior Paratransit Manager Lou Ferri said.
Chris Persaud covers transportation in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Tran cuts bus routes for disabled riders in Palm Beach County
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