The city of Orlando launched a new on-demand electric vehicle shuttle service Monday, serving parties of up to five passengers on one of its five new vehicles for just $1 a ride.
The new service, dubbed Ride DTO, comes as a result of an agreement reached between the city and eco-friendly micro-transit company Circuit earlier this year. You can access the service by downloading its mobile app for Apple and Android users.
“While working with a number of businesses and residents in downtown, it became fairly clear that needed to increase our mobility options within downtown Orlando to help people both get around to their ultimate destination, but also to patronize the businesses that we have, you know, in various different districts throughout downtown,” Downtown Community Redevelopment Area executive director David Barilla told city leaders in June ahead of the program's final approval.
The shuttle service is available for passengers to request pick-up and drop-off within the downtown CRA, which runs from West Gore Street up through the Central Business District to Lake Ivanhoe. Destinations available through the service area include parts of the Thornton Park neighborhood, Parramore (including the Inter & Co Stadium), Lake Eola Heights, and all of the popular attractions located in the downtown core, from the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to Sak Comedy Lab and the Kia Center just west of I-4.
The fully electric vehicles, pitched as a modest way to efficiently reduce vehicle emissions and traffic congestion, will operate all seven days of the week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. according to the city. Rides are considered on-demand, meaning you cannot book or schedule them ahead of time. A goal of the program is to help local workers and residents get around the downtown area in a convenient fashion, building on existing rental bike and scooter programs also available for those making short trips.
The city’s agreement with Circuit allocated about $600,000 for an initial one-year term for the program, according to city documents, with the opportunity for city officials to approve two one-year extensions after. The contract allows that, if the agreement is renewed, the contract would allow for an “annual adjustment” and a 3 percent cost increase over the prior year.
Circuit, a company founded in New York in 2011, has been operating in South Florida for more than 10 years. They have similar shuttle programs operating in West Palm Beach (where most rides are free), Fort Lauderdale and more than 40 other locations in states across the country, from California to Texas to Massachusetts.
As an incentive to try it for yourself, the city announced that new passengers can ride their first three trips with Ride DTO free. Just use the code RIDEDTO.
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