Transit update: mobile app rollout, ridership gains and proposed rebranding move forward

Consultants and county transit staff presented the Transit Development Plan annual update to the MPO on Dec. 15, reporting modest ridership growth, technology adoption and a staged timetable for service enhancements through 2035.

Kayla Hutton of Benesch summarized the TDP update and noted Charlotte County Transit launched a mobile app in November 2024 that added roughly 1,000 users to the system; staff reported approximately 300–400 trips per day and close to 80,000 annual riders in the reporting year.

Transit staff said the agency plans a suite of service improvements — local and regional connectors, downtown circulators and mobility hubs — and that an efficiency study (added earlier to the UPWP) will support decisions about regularly scheduled services. Staff also flagged a proposed branding change; transit staff said the marketing effort would propose the new name to the commissioners for approval.

Board members asked for heat‑map data showing origins and destinations and for more detailed survey methodology; staff agreed to provide trip origin/destination heat maps and further survey documentation before formal rebranding approvals.