Homestead council approves revised Freebee service zone and new trolley routes after transit study

The Homestead City Council voted Tuesday to approve a revised service area map for the city’s Freebee on-demand shuttle and to submit a redesign of the city trolley network developed in a trolley efficiency study.

Public Works Director Cairo Kangas told council the Freebee service, launched Dec. 13, 2023, operates three vehicles with weekday commuter-hour emphasis and weekend service. Kangas said the service completed 21,850 rides in calendar year 2024, carries roughly 29,000 passengers annually, and currently shows an average cost of about $15.57 per rider. He also reported an average app cancellation rate near 50 percent and an average wait time of roughly 27–28 minutes.

Kangas said the city has executed an FDOT grant (identified in the presentation as $20,989) that will reimburse roughly half of monthly Freebee expenditures; staff provided a monthly example reimbursement of $14,173.03 if monthly spend totaled $28,346.06. Kangas said the city is piggybacking on an existing contract with Freebee at an illustrative rate of $34.47 per vehicle hour and that the Freebee service is funded with CITT/ETP transit funds under an interlocal agreement with Miami‑Dade County. He recommended a revised “transit zone” map…