Biscayne Park commission moves to renew Freebee microtransit amid debate over cost, ridership and grants

The Village of Biscayne Park commission on May 5 decided to proceed toward renewing its Freebee microtransit contract for another year, after an extended presentation and public comment that highlighted the program’s benefits and drew scrutiny over program cost and ridership metrics.

Claudia Merrow, vice president at Freebee, told the commission the service — in operation since May 2022 — averages roughly 430–450 unique riders per month in recent months and carries about 20,000 trips over four years. She described the program as a turnkey, low‑cost option for a small community with limited county transit and said the total annual cost is $120,000: 50% funded by an FDOT public transit service development grant ($60,000) and 50% by the county surtax allocation (CITT) the village receives. "This is a $120,000 a year program. Fifty percent of it is covered by FDOT," Merrow said.

Several residents and commissioners urged caution. Some said the service’s reported numbers felt inflated and pushed for more transparency; others stressed the program’s value for seniors, workers and residents without vehicles. Barbara Kuehl, a resident, warned the commission that discontinuing the program would forfeit grant funds that would not automatically return to the village: "If we drop Freebee, we are gonna alienate a lot of residents who may not have a way to get to a grocery store," she said.

Staff and the manager framed the discussion around grant timing and tradeoffs. Staff noted the FDOT grant requires notice within roughly 30 days if the village will not continue, and that the FDOT award program has moved toward multi‑year cycles that may make future awards more competitive. The commission instructed staff and Freebee to produce more detailed ridership breakdowns (unique users vs. rides, geographic origin, trip purposes), to conduct a resident survey listing potential destinations (including the newly added Publix), and to develop marketing and schedule tweaks that could improve utilization. Commissioners also requested clearer reporting on which portions of the program budget are reimbursed by grant and which would be ongoing village obligations going forward.

Why it matters: The decision preserves a year of service funded in part by a time‑sensitive federal grant while imposing conditions to improve oversight and measurability. For residents who depend on the service, renewal maintains mobility options; for the village budget, renewal commits CITT and grant funds and requires monitoring of long‑term funding options.

What’s next: The manager and staff will return a contract or resolution for signature; staff will provide the requested ridership data and a resident survey summary; Freebee will provide the operational changes it can implement to boost ridership.