PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The future of Palm Beach County’s public transportation system Palm Tran is hanging in the balance, with voters set to decide on property taxes this November.
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Depending on the outcome, millions could be slashed from its operating budget. Palm Tran, which serves about 22,000 riders, has been a lifeline for residents across the county. For some, it’s their only way to get where they need to go.
Maria DiBello, who lives in West Palm Beach, says she’s leaning on Palm Tran after her e-bike broke down.
"I think that they're pretty good, I think this entire station is really useful — it's a good hub for people that want to go pretty much anywhere," DiBello said.
She sees the downtown West Palm Beach bus station bustling daily with parents, students, and workers.
"I think this county has already become really hard to be able to afford to live in, not everyone can afford cars or scooters or e-bikes," she said.
Currently, Palm Tran's fiscal year 2027 budget is $322,188,55. Palm Beach County staff met with commissioners on Friday presenting the $175 million price tag Palm Tran had on the county last year.
Palm Beach County Mayor Sara Baxter isn’t shy about questioning the value for the price.
"When you talk about 175 million in one year, that over 5 or 10 years we could have bought everyone Rolls-Royces, it sounds like. So, can we like get this under control? We need to stop spending all this money on something not working for anyone," Baxter said.
Baxter points out inefficiencies, from operating costs to ridership density, and says each paratransit trip costs taxpayers $59, compared to a $10 to $15 Uber.
She’s pushing for vouchers and rideshare integration for paratransit riders that are able to utilize the service.
"We are unhappy, because we're spending millions of dollars, residents aren't happy because they aren't getting trips and enough frequency, " Baxter said. "They're standing out in the rain, they're having issues with getting to where they need to go, waiting an hour or two or so on. It isn't working."
The potential cuts come as county leaders are trying to adjust to the financial challenges, but Commissioner Joel Flores warns against hasty cuts.
"If we want to make adjustments, let's talk about those adjustments but right now we're just looking at trimming and making cuts without rhyme or reason, I'm not in favor of that," Flores said. "Their livelihood depends on paratransit and transit program and I'm not willing to roll the dice."
Commissioner Maria Marino said she has struggled to get clear information on Palm Tran ridership over the years and was blunt about wanting a restart.
"I would like to see Palm Tran burn to the ground," Marino said, "however the caveat to that is I would like to see it rise like a phoenix with a model that works."
She said budget cuts are unavoidable across county services if property tax revenues shrink.
"The takeaway for today is we have to do something to cut dollars, because we’ve got to cut dollars in every single service that we offer to anybody in this county if we aren't going to be able to collect property taxes," Marino said.
The Proposed Cuts
County staff are floating measures that could total approximately $15 million in savings, including:
The proposed $4.5 million operating budget reduction would come primarily from cutting $2 million in overtime, $1 million in repair and maintenance parts and supplies, $770,000 in diesel fuel, and $500,000 in life and health insurance costs. Smaller savings would come from reductions in temporary/contracted salaries ($71,900), various training and contractual services (about $98,000 combined), printing, graphics, and publications ($50,100), and regular travel ($10,000).
An extra $10.9 million in additional service reductions would come from cutting the frequency of fixed route buses, shortening their span of service, eliminating holiday service, and reducing farebox revenue due to these changes.
Marino acknowledges it’s going to touch more than transit.
"We're going to be cutting parks and recreation, we're going to be cutting beaches, we're going to be cutting roadwork networks, we have to start and we have to do it fairly, she said. "We can't afford to stay in business if we don't."
Staff also proposed $1.7 million “Span of Service” reduction would shorten hours on 19 Palm Tran routes, starting service after 6 a.m. and ending before 10 p.m. This would eliminate 152,535 fixed route trips and 17,500 paratransit trips annually during early morning and late evening hours. Riders most affected include long-distance “super commuters”—such as those using early Route 40 buses from Belle Glade to West Palm Beach for Tri-Rail connections—as well as paratransit users traveling for dialysis, work, education, and health care.
They're also looking into letting go of 77 supplemental positions, currently 44 of those are vacant.
Talks Ahead
Vice Mayor Marci Woodward said there’s no ducking these conversations.
"Transportation matters to all of us," she said. "Please let's not be afraid of having these hard discussions."
Commissioners want hard ridership data before making final decisions.
Commissioner Bobby Powell shares his own cautionary tale about Palm Tran feasibility.
"I have tried it. I was going to try to take the bus to the airport. I mapped it out, my route, and it would have took me two hours from my house to get to the airport," he said. "I decided, you know what, I'll either Uber or drive because it just wasn't feasible."
Commissioner Gregg Weiss notes fares haven’t been raised since 2014 and floated a $1 increase.
"I know it is important to keep the service, I don't want to charge people anymore, but if it is a small increase per person per day that would seem to be something we should be discussing."
The hike could bring in an estimated $6 million but would require fare analysis before implementation.
A final decision on property taxes will be decided by voters in November.
County staff expect to have more concise numbers on budget for county commissioners next week.
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