WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The city of West Palm Beach is about to change the way people get around, and it’s going electric.
At the end of this month, the city will retire its familiar blue Ride WPB vans and replace them this summer with a sleek, all-electric fleet designed to serve not just downtown, but far beyond.
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From Big Vans to Electric Cars
Taylor Franklin, who moved to downtown West Palm Beach from Kentucky last year, knows just how much convenient rides matter.
“I want to be able to walk everywhere, get everywhere,” she said.
Last September, she injured her MCL, and Ride WPB became a lifeline.
“It was so nice to be able to just call a ride from my phone, super quick and super cheap to get everywhere that I needed to go,” said Franklin. “It’s been so nice. You get in the big van and it takes me right down here.”
Visitors Taking Note
Terah Dardy, visiting from Houston with Tristan Crayton for a graduation, said they’re already planning routes.
“We’re going to make at least one visit to the beach,” he said.
They’d rented a car but learned about West Palm Beach’s transportation options after arriving.
“Had I known about it, I probably would not have driven,” admitted Dardy.
Crayton sees promise in what’s ahead.
“It will be nice to see the opportunity, what it has here, the opportunity that it has,” Crayton said.
He expressed the need for affordable transportation, to save money on gas and insurance.
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Why the Change?
Jessica Keller, parking and mobility administrator for the city, explained that Ride WPB wasn’t meant to last forever.
“Our primary objective is to manage the congestion, so as the city is redeveloped, we have to have the transportation infrastructure to support the growth,” she said.
The service was temporary, replacing the original trolley, while the city gathered data for a permanent system. Over three years, that data helped shape the new plan.
“It’s going to be faster, more frequent, more reliable," said Keller. "The intent is to deliver a more responsive, efficient, and integrated mobility option that better supports access to downtown and reduces reliance on single-occupant vehicle trips."
The new system will operate under a performance-based contract, breaking away from the hourly-rate model of Ride WPB and the trolley. Keller said this gives the city “a much higher level of control over service quality, reliability, and overall user experience.”
West Palm Beach
Iconic West Palm Beach trolleys to be phased out in just days
More Access, More Options
Ride WPB served mostly downtown, attracting roughly 20,000 riders monthly. The new all-electric program will cover expanded areas east of Interstate 95, opening access to more than 100,000 people in West Palm Beach.
It will have both fixed routes and on-demand rides, with fares expected to be affordable and competitive with Palm Tran. And there’s a futuristic twist, the city plans to integrate self-driving cars that can carry up to 15 passengers.
Excitement for the Future
For Franklin, old habits may be hard to let go, but change is welcome.
“Wait, that’s awesome, that’s great to hear,” she said when hearing about the self-driving cars. While sad to see Ride WPB go, Franklin is eager. “Yeah, so excited about that. There’s so much new and so much coming.”
The selected provider is called Via and the city is still negotiating the final details. The new service is expected to begin sometime in August.
"I’m excited about the level of service that we’re going to be providing and I'm going to challenge others to demonstrate a greater level of service than what West Palm Beach will be providing to it's visitors and residents in the city," said Keller.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
