The City is dropping two services that reach County-side Stock Island — where much of the workforce lives. A $500,000 fix is on the table. So far, no one’s taken it.

Imagine you live at Wreckers Cay workforce apartments on Stock Island. You take the Key West Rides or sometimes the Workforce Express bus to your job at La Concha Hotel using a $25 monthly pass. You’ve depended on this routine for a few years. So does your boss. Now imagine those buses vanish. Poof. Multiply this by hundreds of workers on the south or unincorporated side of Stock Island. That spells trouble for workers and downtown businesses as half of our workers live beyond the Cheryl H. Cates (Cow Key) Bridge.

Public transit will disappear on the County-side of Stock during the next fiscal year. The City’s Key West Transit is overhauling its entire local service and replacing the Key West Rides on-demand and Workforce Express services with a new Island Hopper route proposed in the FY27 budget unveiled on July 20. The Island Hopper won’t serve the portion of Stock Island to the south of U.S. Route 1. 

Nobody set out to abandon riders. The County didn’t plan for a backup service because they were relying on the City’s assurance, as the county administrator put it, that none of the county’s residents were being turned away. And when the County Commission made its decision at their initial July 14 budget meeting, it didn’t yet know the City was eliminating those routes at all. 

There’s a fix on the table — the City has priced out Stock Island’s south side participation in the Island Hopper and invited the County in at $500,000. Nobody’s picked up the ball. Yet. The opportunity arises at the County’s budget hearings September 9 and 14. 

Let’s unpack this below by looking at the recent history of Stock Island public transit, take a closer look at what fell through the cracks as the City and County attempted to coordinate, discuss who “should” be paying, ask why this is like déjà vu from last year’s budget cycle and close with what if anything can be salvaged and what it all means. 

Stock Island Service Over the Last Couple of Decades

For the uninitiated, all of Stock Island isn’t officially part of the City of Key West. This background will be important as we move forward. It is bifurcated by U.S. Route 1 with the north side – think golf course, hospital and college – being part of the City of Key West. The south side, where most of the people live, nearly 5,000, is part of unincorporated Monroe County. Yes, our fellow citizens here may have a Key West address and zip code, but they aren’t city residents, paying taxes in nor voting in the recent mayoral election. 

As far as we can tell using available data, Key West Transit provided service to both sides of Stock Island for more than 20 years going back to 2005. Each of the old Orange, Red, Blue and Green lines served both sides of Stock Island. When they were replaced by the North and South Lines in May 2020 the South Line served the south side of Stock Island. Then Key West Rides on-demand replaced the North and South Lines in 2023, and the service area included Key West and all of Stock Island. In May 2023 the Workforce Express route began service from the south side of Stock Island to downtown, so now people on Stock Island had two choices. A year later in 2024, the route was extended to the north side of the island. Also, in July of 2024 the County began its Conch Connect on-demand transit service on Stock Island and Key West. At the time, a worker on Stock Island could choose between Key West Rides, the Workforce Express and Conch Connect. And then the wheels started to fall off.

In the summer of 2025, the County eliminated Conch Connect, as well as their fledgling transit department. And this summer the City announced Key West Rides and the Workforce Express will be replaced by the Island Hopper that only serves the north side of Stock Island. Still with us? 

While the County, and the City of Marathon, have been contributing to the Lower Keys Shuttle since its inception in 2005, we are unaware of the County ever contributing towards these Stock Island routes, save for the one year of their own Conch Connect service. But the County and City started discussing just that earlier this year.

The County-City Coordination That Didn’t Quite Happen

In March County Administrator Christine Hurley told us she planned to present the county commissioners with two potential transit improvements as part of the FY27 budget. The first would address frequency on the Lower Keys Shuttle (LKS). The second would be a separate workforce bus service for Stock Island residents to Key West. 

City transit staff met with County staff on April 9 to “explore options to expand the level of service on both the Lower Keys Shuttle and the Workforce route” with Key West Transit Director Rogelio Hernandez promising to follow up with options for each.

On May 11 Mr. Hernandez provided two scenarios to add seven trips a day (4 southbound and 3 northbound) to the LKS. One option for seven day a week service and the other just for weekdays. In transmitting this information, the Director also mentioned that after collecting ridership data, customer suggestions and considering efficiency and cost savings they were “proposing a new fixed route that would encompass the Workforce path and other routes.” He provided a draft map and schedule that didn’t include south side service and noted:

“Currently, the only bus stop near Stock Island is at US-1 & 3rd. Our last conversation included the possibility of the County pitching in for the Workforce Route. Although this proposed route is not the Workforce Route, it would provide 60-minute service—and potentially every 45 minutes—if the County is interested in learning more.”

He followed up the same day with more information that included:

“If the County is interested in supporting the new proposed fixed route and having it include unincorporated Stock Island along with increased frequency to 45-minute headways—below is the preliminary estimated cost: The County’s estimated annual contribution for the 45-minute service would be approximately $500,000 for 45-minute service.”

On May 13 Ms. Hurley instructed her staff to prepare an item for the July budget meeting that included the two Lower Keys Shuttle options for the commission to consider. It went before the commissioners at their initial July 14 budget meeting as a modest $128,700 (weekdays) or $180,180 (7-days) proposal. The catch?  It would only be enacted if the commission raised the millage rate. 

It did not.

In a July 14 email — after the Board had already declined to add the LKS service — Ms. Hurley told the Transit Director the commission “didn’t vote to add this service to the budget today” but hadn’t ruled out doing so later. She added: “They did ask about capacity of the existing service and whether the current buses that do this route have empty seats. Any chance you can tell us that information easily?”

That same day Mr. Hernandez responded: “During peak times (6–9 a.m. and 3–7 p.m.) on weekdays, both the Lower Keys Shuttle and Workforce (Fixed Route) are standing-room only. During non-peak times, yes, there are usually vacant seats.” Then the key caveat: “Please note that the information above excludes the Key West Rides On-Demand Service, which continues to see growing demand and our inability to meet that demand.” He also asked whether both proposals had been voted down — the Lower Keys Shuttle increase and the possibility of the County supporting the new fixed route.

So, the capacity discussion — is anyone being turned away, do the buses have room — happened in July, after the Board had already made its call. And it explicitly set aside Key West Rides, one of the two services the City is now eliminating.

That timing matters, because when we asked why the County never brought a Stock Island proposal forward, Ms. Hurley told us: “We did not bring forward a proposal to increase services for Stock Island because correspondence from KW in April indicated ‘no customers have been turned away on the Lower Keys Shuttle or Workforce fixed-route services.'”

But the email exchange we reviewed complicates that. The City’s April correspondence was an introductory note — bus photos, website links, a thank-you for the meeting — with no ridership or capacity information in it. The “no one turned away” characterization doesn’t appear in the record until July. We asked the City to clarify when and how it gave that assurance. Key West Transit said it wouldn’t comment further until closer to its September 10 budget hearing.

We also asked Ms. Hurley whether the commission knew at its July 14 meeting that the City’s budget eliminated Key West Rides and the Workforce Express in favor of an Island Hopper that wouldn’t serve the County side of Stock Island. She replied: “You are correct; it wasn’t known.”

Stuff fell through the cracks here. One can’t help but wonder whether, if the County hadn’t let go of its own Transit Director last summer, it could have reacted more nimbly to the City’s changes — including the City making known in May that it intended to “propose a new fixed route that would encompass the workforce route,” showing the County a map, noting there would be no stops on the south side, and inviting the County to help fund service there. It’s confusing. And while it doesn’t seem anyone purposely set out to cut riders on the south side of Stock Island, the result is still awful. For the second year in a row, we’re losing public transit.

Who Should Be Paying?  

The County and the City of Marathon have contributed to the Lower Keys Shuttle since its inception, although it seems a small portion (less than 1/3 of the cost) relative to the miles. The City has funded local bus service on the unincorporated side of Stock Island – the County has not contributed. The reaction on Facebook to our request for feedback on the Island Hopper surfaced the dichotomy:

“Last I checked the County side of Stock Island pays nothing in taxes.” said John. Steven replied, “The businesses they keep up and running do.” The rest of the comments followed along the same lines.

The workers on Stock Island staff the City’s economy, the businesses pay taxes, the riders pay fares, and the City chose to fund this for years. So, what’s changed that the City now feels no obligation to keep paying? 

And will the County step into the void? Despite the County staff’s effort to provide a little more funding for increased frequency on the Lower Keys Shuttle, the commissioners didn’t bite. And they’ve yet to consider a Stock Island service despite saying they would. Will the September 9 and 14 County budget hearings be different?

The County’s track record doesn’t bode well as they spent last year dismantling the Conch Connect, their transit department and along with it their long-term plans. 

Lucy’s Holding the Football, Again

We’re reminded of the beloved Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip where Lucy routinely invites Charlie Brown to kick a football, only to pull it away at the final second, sending him spinning into the air to land flat on his back. Are we witnessing yet another cycle of false hope? Will this time be different?

It’s like déjà vu all over again, because we were in this exact spot during last summer’s budget cycle (Dumb and Dumber Transit Cuts, August 3, 2025). And despite the promises to look into tourist and other funding (here, here and here), nothing’s happened. 

The result, more cuts looming on top of last year’s cuts. More workers stranded, more businesses whose employees don’t have reliable ways to get to work, more residents left to fend for themselves with the high cost of being car-dependent. 

Until County and the City leaders realize that public transit is a public necessity, not just a nice to have, and fund it properly, I’d advise Charlie Brown to sit this kick out. But I hope I’m wrong.

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Chris Hamilton is the founder of Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown, a local advocacy group championing sustainable mobility and vibrant public spaces. Subscribe to the blog and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Substack for updates. All stories are cross posted at KONK Life News. Originally from Washington, D.C., Chris spent over two decades leading nationally acclaimed initiatives in transit, biking, walking, and smart growth for Arlington County, VA’s DOT. Since moving to Key West in 2015, he has embraced a car-free lifestyle downtown, dedicating his time to non-profits and community projects. Explore all Streets for People column.

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