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Islamorada council sets $2 Freebee rider fee, presses vendor for reporting and advertising details
Summary
After public concern over outreach and contract terms, the council voted 4-1 to implement a $2 rider fee on Freebee rideshare service beginning July 20 and directed staff to obtain a vendor dashboard and monthly reports; the contract includes advertising credits and DOT review.
The Islamorada Village Council voted to implement a $2 rider fee for the Freebee rideshare service and directed staff to notify the vendor in writing and require regular reporting and a public dashboard.
Council and staff discussed fleet composition, ADA service, advertising, and invoicing before the vote. Village Manager Ron Saunders told the council the executed contract designates an ADA-accessible Toyota Sienna and two Tesla sedans for active service and that Freebee has agreed to provide an advertising credit pending DOT review. Saunders said the village would not use grant money for advertising so the vendors advertising practices were allowable under DOT rules.
Residents raised concerns. "The $2 fee was in the RFP," resident Jamie Engle said, urging the council to start the fee on Aug. 1 or sooner to avoid subsidy costs she estimated at "$8,000 a month." Sue Miller, speaking for the Islamorada Community Alliance, urged the council to require clear procedures for verifying "net fee revenue" (after payment-processing deductions) and questioned inconsistencies in vehicle counts and holiday days off written into the contract. "The Freebee cost of this service went from the current $553,330 to $665,000 an increase of over a $111,000," Miller said.
Joe Wishmire (Zoom) requested that the council ensure the village receives the full $2 for each rider and urged the village to require clear fee-remittance procedures from the vendor: "The $2 fee per person should be coming for every person that's on there."
Council members debated start dates. Some favored immediate implementation if the app could push notices; others preferred a short notice window to let riders without cards prepare. Vice Mayor Sharon Mahoney moved to start the fee on Monday, July 20; the motion was seconded and carried 4-1, with Council member Deb Gillis voting no.
The council instructed staff to request a dashboard and monthly reports from Freebee, schedule a public workshop to demonstrate the dashboard, and return with any recommended contract clarifications on advertising, vehicle changes and fee accounting.
The village manager said Freebee agreed to adjust the first invoice to reflect advertising credits and that the vendor was willing to provide ridership and revenue data. The council also requested specific reporting in the first six months to monitor ridership, revenue and advertising credits.
Next procedural steps include the village manager notifying Freebee in writing of the start date and staff preparing a checklist of information the council wants on the vendor dashboard and monthly reports.
