Free Trolley Service To Connect Downtown Sarasota With Lido Key

SARASOTA, FL — To alleviate traffic woes on Lido Key, a popular Sarasota-area barrier island for beachgoers, a free open-air trolley will begin linking downtown Sarasota to south Lido Beach this summer.

Sarasota city commissioners voted unanimously to launch the service at their Monday meeting, the Observer reported. The city will put out feelers for a transportation company to operate the trolley.

Service will likely begin in August, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. Three trolleys will run Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., running every 20 to 25 minutes from East Main Street through St. Armands Circle to south Lido Beach.

The trolley service is a three-year pilot program funded, partially, by a $1.5 million Florida Department of Transportation grant. The city estimates it will cost between $210,000 and $515,000 a year, reports said.

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The Sarasota County Area Transit system operates a popular trolley to Siesta Key, another well-visited barrier island in the area.

At its Tuesday meeting, the Sarasota County Commission approved a $2.2 million contract with River North Transit, LLC for a mobility-on-demand program to connect downtown to Lido or Longboat Key, reports said. This partnership with ride-sharing companies will replace unproductive routes to the barrier islands.