The Royal Palm Beach Village Council met Thursday, Nov. 22 with a busy agenda of more than 20 items, including a presentation by new Palm Tran Executive Director Ivan Maldonado and Director of Transit Planning Yash Nagal.
Maldonado introduced himself to the council in his new role as Palm Tran executive director. He took over the position in July, replacing the late Clinton Forbes, who passed away suddenly last year at age 55.
Maldonado comes to the county as a seasoned public transportation expert. Joining him for the presentation was Nagal, who provided the council with an overview of Palm Tran operations with a focus on the new BusLink program.
In September, Palm Tran suspended service on Route 52, which served many people living or working in the Royal Palm Beach area. Large buses operating on the route drew little ridership, making the route one of the most inefficient in the system, with buses regularly riding empty or under capacity. Thanks to a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, to fill the transit needs of riders affected by route cancellations, Palm Tran has replaced the route with an innovative on-demand program called BusLink.
BusLink is a partnership between Palm Tran and Uber, as well as select local taxi companies. The program works very similar to Uber. County residents in need of public transportation in the area formerly served by Route 52 can now register on the Palm Tran web site, where they will be invited to download an app similar to Uber. The rider selects pick up and drop off points within a designated Route 52 service area boundary. Like Uber, the rider can decide between a private or a rideshare level of service. No matter the cost of the ride, the program only subsidizes riders up to $8 per ride.
The program is in its infancy and is considered a pilot project. Not all riders are happy. Royal Palm Beach resident L.A. Rankin is one of the riders affected by the change.
“This new program is well-intentioned, but it’s putting people out of work. I don’t drive and specifically chose a residence near Route 52. Now, the $8 rebate doesn’t begin to cover costs, and the working poor can’t afford to take 10 Uber rides a week,” Rankin said.
Palm Tran’s Maldonado responded, “BusLink is intended for customers to use Uber and/or taxi vouchers to connect to the local fixed route system. The BusLink program offers a solution to the first- and last-mile connectivity issue that is often present in low-populated suburban communities. We recommend that customers use the voucher to travel to a fixed-route stop, not for the entire trip.”
There were 1,098 BusLink vouchers used for drop-offs and pick-ups within the Royal Palm Beach BusLink zone in October 2024. Palm Tran estimates that there are more than 150 BusLink users in Royal Palm Beach.
The realignment of Route 52 into other routes and the BusLink zone contributed to an increase in ridership on other local routes, officials noted.
“With the implementation of BusLink, we’ve improved Route 40 by increasing the frequency of the route to 30 minutes and adding new service on State Road 7 and Okeechobee,” Maldonado said. “This has resulted in 1,038 added monthly boardings. Route 40 connects Royal Palm Beach to downtown West Palm Beach and Belle Glade. This route is a great commuter option for customers.”
Mayor Jeff Hmara said the pilot program shows promise.
“We’ll be closely watching the pilot program to ensure it works well for our community and provides the access and reliability our residents deserve,” he said. “This is all about giving people better transportation options and improving mobility in Royal Palm Beach.”
In other business:
- Facing no competition in the upcoming municipal elections, Royal Palm Beach Planning & Zoning Commissioner Adam Miller was scheduled to be sworn into the council’s Group 1 seat in March. Councilman Richard Valuntas made a motion to appoint Miller temporarily to the vacant Group 3 seat, which was approved unanimously. Meanwhile, Councilwoman Selena Samios was appointed vice mayor. The council has not had a designated vice mayor since Hmara, the previous vice mayor, became mayor.
- H.L. Johnson Elementary School Principal Crystal Amado Kucharski came to the podium to formally thank the council for approving a special event permit allowing the school to hold its winter concert at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park on Tuesday, Dec. 10 from 5 to 8 p.m.
- The council also unanimously approved an expansion of the Aldi Distribution Warehouse property at 1171 North State Road 7. This includes a proposed warehouse/storage expansion of 67,347 square feet and a new parking lot of 182 spaces.
This differs from the original plan from 2012, which would have allowed 151,172 square feet of additional space but no parking lot. The developer decided that additional staff parking is necessary and trimmed the warehouse space to create it. The new building includes a public art requirement.
The council, however, was concerned about a landscape waiver request tied to the parking lot that would eliminate the required five-foot-wide perpendicular divider strips. The council and the developer agreed to reformat the parking lot slightly to eliminate the need for the variance.
