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Bradenton CRA discusses expanding Freebie circulator, advertising and grant options to cover weekday service
Summary
Staff and board members discussed options to expand the Freebie circulator beyond current days, including advertising partnerships, weekday coverage, and potential grant offsets; staff will return cost and grant options during the budget process.
Bradenton Community Redevelopment Agency staff and board members discussed April 22 whether to expand Freebie service beyond its current schedule and how to offset the added cost. Staff described Freebie as a tool to reduce traffic and said the operator provides pickup demographics and usage metrics that can guide a decision about adding weekdays.
"Freebie is our way of doing that," a staff member said, describing the circulator as a method to get people into and out of downtown while keeping cars off the road. Board members discussed advertising and collaboration ideas — including designated parking partnerships and on-unit advertisements — as sources of revenue to support expanded service.
Todd and other board members said a preliminary bidder meeting for Love Park had good turnout and staff noted that Freebie partnership leads and warm contacts would be helpful in promoting commercial advertising. Barbie said she had asked Mr. Burton to research the cost of running Freebie Monday through Friday and look for grants to offset those expenses.
No budgetary decision was made at the April meeting; staff said detailed cost estimates and grant research will be presented during upcoming budget workshops where departments submit interdepartmental applications. The board agreed decisions about expanding service and any related funding should be handled in the budget process.
