Palm Tran is the public transit bus system run by the Palm Beach County Government, serving Palm Beach County, Florida. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . Palm Tran also serves a portion of Broward County, Florida where it overlaps with Broward County Transit. Palm Tran has four main facilities (North Campus in West Palm Beach, South Campus in Delray Beach, Palm Tran Connection/Military Trail and the Belle Glade Facility) with its main headquarters in West Palm Beach on Electronics Way. The current executive director is Clinton B. Forbes.
History In 1971, Florida Transit Management, Inc. (a subsidiary of National City) began service with 20 buses on seven routes. In 1980, this service was expanded to over 60 buses in 22 routes, then renamed CoTran, short for "County Transportation". Finally, in 1996, CoTran was completely restructured to over 150 buses in over 30 routes, then renamed Palm Tran, its fleet repainted to the present white and teal design scheme, and has been that way since. At that time the basic design of the livery of the buses was changed from white and orange to white and teal, some of which are screen-wrapped to the logos and design of the company that sponsors those particular buses, but preserve their Palm Tran logos and bus numbers, the latter of which are assigned a four-digit number according to the year and order in which they were acquired. Also at that time, Florida Transit Management was replaced with Palm Tran Inc., a nonprofit. Palm Tran will introduce USB charging stations on its newest fleet in early 2017.
On September 30, 2018, Palm Tran implemented the first overhaul to the entire network since 1996. In addition, free Wi-Fi was added on all buses.
Future On April 23, 2019, The Palm Tran broke ground on an expansion project on its South County Facility in Delray Beach, Florida. The current 3,800 Square foot space will be converted into a three-story 34,000 square foot facility. The project is set to cost 25 million, 90 percent of which is federally funded. The facility will feature charging stations for their fleet of fully electric buses; along with service stations for 20 additional buses. The building will feature art by Palm Beach County's Art in Public Places Program.
Rates Plexiglass shields on the driver's side are in place, to reduce interaction.
The standard adult one-way fare is $2. People eligible for the reduced fare, such as students, disabled, and senior citizens, pay $1. $5 buys an unlimited 24-hour pass ($3.50 for reduced fare). Daily and 31-day unlimited ride passes are also available for purchase at Palm Tran Connection. There are 31-day unlimited passes that are available reduced or regular costing $55 and $70 respectively. Kids below 9 ride free with fare-paying rider, limit is 3.
Bus technology All Palm Tran buses have bicycle racks on the front, capable of holding two bikes. They are also equipped GPS and video surveillance cameras which record activity on the bus and the outer side facing the bus stops. Recently Palm Tran has equipped all fixed-route buses with automatic vehicle location technology that enables passengers to track buses and bus arrivals in real time. Palm Tran also offers real-time bus arrival information on its website or through its MyStop Mobile app, as well as on-demand through SMS. In October 2018, all 159 fixed route buses started to offer free Wi-Fi to its riders.
Palm Tran announced plans to incorporate new payment methods in addition to cash. The new upgrades will allow the service to accept credit cards and smartphone payments. The upgrade was set to cost between 5 million and 6 million dollars.
Palm Tran Connection Palm Tran Connection is a shared ride, door to door, paratransit service that provides transportation for residents and visitors in Palm Beach County under six programs: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Program Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) Program Division of Senior Services (DOSS) Program
Palm Tran Connection is operated by private transport companies and oversight is provided through Palm Tran. They travel to every destination in Palm Beach County – from Jupiter to Boca Raton and from Palm Beach to South Bay. Palm Tran Connection schedules all trips, prepares vehicle manifests, handles customer concerns & commendations, determines eligibility, and monitors the performance of the Transportation Providers. The fare for ADA and TD is $3.50 per one way. DOSS is free to meal sites.
Route list
Routes are divided into four regions within the county.
Main Corridor Main Corridor routes traverse the primary north–south surface roads of the county from Boca Raton in the south to Riviera Beach in the north. RouteTerminals Primary streets traveled Service notes1Palm Beach GardensThe Gardens Mall ↔Boca RatonCamino RealUS 12West Palm BeachIntermodal Transit Center ↔Boca RatonTown Center MallCongress Avenue3Palm Beach GardensThe Gardens Mall ↔Military Trail4West Palm BeachMilitary Crossing ↔Riviera BeachVA Medical CenterHaverhill Road
North County North County routes mainly serve Palm Beach Gardens, Riviera Beach, and Jupiter. RouteTerminals Primary streets traveled Service notes10Palm Beach GardensThe Gardens Mall ↔JupiterJupiter Town HallIndiantown Road, Military TrailNo Sunday service20 ↔West Palm BeachIntermodal Transit CenterNorthlake Boulevard, Congress Avenue30Riviera BeachVA Medical Center ↔Singer IslandLake DriveBlue Heron Boulevard31 ↔West Palm BeachIntermodal Transit Center45th Street, Tamarind Avenue33Palm Beach GardensThe Gardens Mall ↔West Palm BeachCross County PlazaAustralian Avenue, Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard
Central County Central County routes serve West Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth, and Belle Glade. RouteTerminals Primary streets traveled Service notes40Belle GladeWest Tech Education Center ↔WellingtonMall at Wellington GreenSouthern Boulevard ↔West Palm BeachIntermodal Transit CenterSouthern Boulevard, Australian AvenueRush hour service only41Palm BeachPalm Beach Inlet ↔North County RoadNo Sunday service43WellingtonMall at Wellington Green ↔Okeechobee Boulevard44West Palm BeachVista Center ↔Belvedere Road, Cherry Road46WellingtonMall at Wellington Green ↔West Palm BeachPalm Coast PlazaForest Hill Boulevard47Canal PointCommunity Center ↔South BaySecond StreetSR 15, SR 71560GreenacresRiver Bridge Centre ↔West Palm BeachIntermodal Transit CenterPurdy Lane, Summit Boulevard, Parker AvenueNo Sunday service61 ↔Lake WorthPalm Beach State CollegeCresthaven Boulevard, 10th Avenue North62WellingtonMall at Wellington Green ↔Lake WorthLake Worth BeachLake Worth Road63West Palm BeachVista Center ↔LantanaHypoluxo Road & US 1Jog Road, Lantana Road64GreenacresWIC Center ↔LantanaCounty Public HealthMelaleuca Lane, 6th Avenue SouthNo Sunday service
South County South County routes mainly serve the cities of Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton. RouteTerminals Primary streets traveled Service notes70LantanaCounty Public Health ↔Delray BeachTri-Rail StationSeacrest Boulevard71Boynton BeachLantana Road & Military Trail ↔Boynton BeachBoynton Beach MallLawrence RoadNo Sunday service73 Boynton BeachBethesda Hospital West ↔Boynton BeachTri-Rail StationBoynton Beach Boulevard80Delray BeachDelray Square ↔Delray BeachPlaza at DelaryLake Ida Road, SW 4th Avenue81Delray BeachHagen Ranch Library ↔Delray BeachAtlantic Avenue & SE 6th StreetAtlantic AvenueNo Sunday service88Delray BeachLakes of Delray ↔Delray BeachPlaza at DelrayLinton Boulevard, Lowson Boulevard91Boca RatonSandalfoot Square ↔Boca RatonFlorida Atlantic UniversityGlades Road92 ↔Boca RatonCamino Real & Federal HighwayPalmetto Park RoadNo Sunday service94Boca RatonTri-Rail Station ↔Boca RatonCamino Real & Federal HighwayNW 8th Avenue, NE 20th StreetServes Florida Atlantic University
See also Transportation in South Florida
References
External links
Official website