Village teams with Lyft to offer senior discount

Royal Palm Beach to pay half of the cost of rides up to $40 per resident.

ROYAL PALM BEACH — Residents age 65 and older soon will have a new way to get around the village.

Royal Palm Beach’s council on Thursday night unanimously approved having Village Manager Ray Liggins enter into a contract with ride-share service Lyft to provide discounted rides for seniors.

The plan has been in the works for months as part of the village’s goal to roll out more services for its older residents.

“I’m very excited about this,” Mayor Fred Pinto said. “... I’m glad to see we’re at a point to move forward with this.”

Once the program officially launches, residents age 65 and older will register for the program at Royal Palm Beach’s Recreation Center at 100 Sweet Bay Lane. Registration should begin sometime in July, Liggins said.

Once approved, those in need of a ride would use Lyft’s smartphone app to schedule a pickup. The village will pay half the cost of each ride, up to $40 per month per registered member, Liggins said.

Rides must begin and end within Royal Palm Beach, east along Okeechobee Boulevard to Jog Road or south along State Road 7 to the Mall at Wellington Green. Liggins said the coverage area also extends north a bit into The Acreage, because to include Wellington Regional Medical Center he had to expand the overall radius of the approved service area.

Royal Palm Beach will receive a monthly report that will include who used the service that month, how much the village spent and where each trip was taken.

The village’s annual budget for the program is $40,000, which Liggins said should help provide about 3,000 rides at about $12 per ride.

The program could expand to include Uber in the future, but Liggins said he is still doing research on their partnership program.

Both companies see senior transportation as a “huge market in the future,” Liggins said. “They are working with cities and doctors and senior care providers to work out systems,” he added.