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A LauderGO! shuttle travels along the beach in Fort Lauderdale. [Odessa Buell]<\/p>\nA LauderGO! shuttle travels along the beach in Fort Lauderdale. [Odessa Buell]<\/p>\n
By Nile Fortner | New Pelican Writer<\/p>\n
Along Broward County\u2019s coastline, microtransit has finally come into its own.<\/p>\n
Electric shuttles now glide through downtown corridors, along A1A, and between neighborhood hubs, connecting communities from Fort Lauderdale to Lauderdale-By-The-Sea and north to the streets of Pompano and Deerfield. What began as local transportation pilots has evolved into a connected coastal network.<\/p>\n
Over the last several months, the electric shuttle services in Pompano Beach (Pompano Circuit), Fort Lauderdale (LauderGO!), and Lauderdale-By-The-Sea (Circuit-By-The-Sea) have reported ridership milestones; 500,000, 700,000, and 250,000, respectively and over 1.4 million, collectively.<\/p>\n
Together, those figures signal more than isolated achievements. They reflect a regional shift in how short trips are handled in cities built long before today\u2019s traffic volumes.<\/p>\n
\u201cReaching 700,000 riders shows that people are actively seeking flexible, convenient, and sustainable ways to move around their cities,\u201d said Katie Cook, head of marketing for LauderGO! \u201cIt\u2019s proof that urban mobility is shifting toward more adaptable, community-focused solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Public transit can carry riders most of the way, like to a train platform, a bus stop, or the edge of a commercial district, but not always to the final destination. That \u201clast mile\u201d often becomes a barrier, especially in South Florida\u2019s heat. Microtransit is designed to close that gap.<\/p>\n
When the City of Fort Lauderdale launched LauderGO!, the mission was simple: connect the dots. The free, app-based service complements Broward County Transit and links riders to hubs such as Brightline and Tri-Rail while weaving through neighborhoods from Galt Ocean Mile to northwest Fort Lauderdale. The program now handles more than 500 ride requests per day.<\/p>\n
In Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, the setting is smaller, but the impact is equally visible. In the compact beach town, where the surf draws diners and beachgoers, Circuit-By-The-Sea has operated since April 2023 as a 100 percent electric shuttle service. Riders can request trips throughout town and to nearby parts of Fort Lauderdale, including the Coral Ridge Mall, for a modest fare. Shuttles run seven days a week and accommodate up to five passengers, including wheelchair-accessible vehicles.<\/p>\n
\u201cReaching 250,000 riders is a wonderful achievement for our Circuit-By-The-Sea program,\u201d said Mayor Edmund Malkoon. \u201cThe service has quickly become a convenient and sustainable way for residents to get around town and visit our local businesses and lodging options, all without needing a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Popular stops include Plunge Beach Resort, 101 Ocean, and Aruba Beach Caf\u00e9, underscoring how microtransit supports both mobility and local commerce.<\/p>\n
\u201cCircuit-By-The-Sea is about more than transit,\u201d said Circuit Partner Jason Bagley. \u201cBy creating local W-2 jobs and driving riders to neighborhood restaurants, groceries, and attractions, this program makes it easier for residents and visitors to benefit from everything the community has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The momentum extends beyond two municipalities. From Pompano Beach\u2019s redeveloping downtown to Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Wilton Manors, coastal communities are exploring flexible electric fleets as tools to manage growth without widening already constrained roads. Every milestone in one city appears to strengthen the next.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn South Florida, where cities like Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano, and Wilton Manors are closely connected, that creates a network effect,\u201d said Cook. \u201cPeople travel to neighboring areas and look for Circuit in each place they go.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Pompano Beach, Circuit\u2019s electric shuttles circulate through the city\u2019s revitalized downtown and beachfront areas, reinforcing redevelopment efforts. Circuit\u2019s fare-free electric shuttle has carried more than 10,000 passengers per month as part of the city\u2019s beach and downtown mobility grid, helping residents and visitors navigate local destinations without driving. In Deerfield Beach, the Freebee electric rideshare, a free service connecting neighborhoods west of Federal Highway to businesses east of the corridor, logged 2,778 passengers in October 2025 alone, showcasing substantial uptake even in a smaller pilot zone.<\/p>\n
Cook added that operating in close proximity makes each local program stronger. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can operate more efficiently,\u201d said Cook. \u201cScale faster, and deliver a more consistent rider experience across the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
About 65 percent of LauderGO! trips are shared rides, meaning multiple passengers travel in a single vehicle instead of separate cars. Since its launch, Fort Lauderdale\u2019s program has prevented more than 325 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, aligning with broader local climate goals. \u201cMicrotransit is designed to connect riders to larger transit hubs and corridors, not replace them,\u201d said Cook.<\/p>\n
In a region shaped by tourism, growth, and tightening roadways, solutions that ease congestion don\u2019t stop at city limits. They strengthen mobility and sustainability across South Florida\u2019s coastal communities. \u201cOver the next decade, microtransit will become even more integrated into city transportation systems,\u201d said Cook. \u201cAs cities work to reduce congestion and emissions, on-demand electric shuttles will play a central role in how people move.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Fort Lauderdale to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and beyond, electric shuttles are becoming part of the region\u2019s transportation fabric, and quietly redefining what it means to get from here to there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A LauderGO! shuttle travels along the beach in Fort Lauderdale. [Odessa Buell] By Nile Fortner | New Pelican…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":{"0":"post-205880","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-lauderdale","8":"tag-fort-lauderdale","9":"tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","10":"tag-fort-lauderdale-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}