Focus on Manatee | MCAT to launch Port Manatee bus service on June 14

As Port Manatee enjoys record levels of commerce, the way to and from work at the port is about to get easier for many local residents with June 14 launch of Manatee County Area Transit’s newest bus route.

The Port Manatee ConneXion Shuttle — to be the subject of an open house forum on Wednesday, June 2, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Palmetto City Hall, 516 Eighth Ave. West, Palmetto — is being offered by MCAT as a call-ahead service, with stops just outside the port’s main gate, as well as the Palmetto Transit Station, Palmetto Walmart and the Rubonia community.

Implementation of the service — as approved May 11 by the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners — could not be coming at a more fitting time, as cargo activity at Manatee County’s seaport continues to shatter records while the number of people working each day at the port correspondingly skyrockets. In May, 1,504 people came to work at Port Manatee on a typical day — significantly more than double the 641 workers coming through port gates on an average day in 2015.

Not only should the new bus service offer a convenient method for current workers to get to and from their jobs at Port Manatee, but it also should help expand the pool of potential new employees for thriving businesses at the port.

Those wishing to use the Port Manatee ConneXion Shuttle are asked to make reservations the day before service is desired by phoning 941-748-2317 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The service is to be available Mondays through Saturdays from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

For those planning to use the service on a regular basis, subscription service is being offered. All valid MCAT and Sarasota County Area Transit fixed-route bus passes will be accepted. Cash fare is set at $1.50 per ride, with a prepaid program and mobile ticketing available.

The Port Manatee ConneXion Shuttle links with MCAT’s Route 201 North County ConneXion buses at the Palmetto Transit Station, Palmetto Walmart and Rubonia. In addition, it connects with Route 1 Ellenton Outlet Mall service and Route 13 Palmetto service at both at the Palmetto Transit Station and Palmetto Walmart, with a direct link to Route 203 Skyway ConneXion also offered at the transit station. The north-south Port Manatee ConneXion Shuttle route covers about 10 miles each way.

The new Port Manatee shuttle is being furnished in concert with MCAT’s daily mission to provide convenient, on-time and accessible transit services to benefit our community. Riders with wheelchairs or other mobility devices, as well as those with bicycles, are to be accommodated, with such special requirements to be noted at the time of scheduling.

More information about the Port Manatee ConneXion Shuttle is to be available at the June 2 open house meeting and may be found online at www.mymanatee.org/mcat.

While 1,500-plus workers now come to and from jobs at Port Manatee on a daily basis, the reach of the seaport’s economic contributions are far greater, with the self-sustaining port providing for more than 27,000 direct and indirect jobs and generating more than $3.9 billion in overall annual impacts, all without benefit of local property tax support.

We anticipate the Port Manatee ConneXion Shuttle will stimulate further economic benefits by making travel to and from seaport work even simpler for a growing number of Manatee County residents. Moreover, we look forward to the new bus service opening the door to opportunity for many of our neighbors who otherwise may lack convenient transportation access.

Carlos Buqueras is executive director of Port Manatee.