Sarasota County Area Transit to host public workshops starting Dec. 4

Sessions will focus on proposed changes to save expenses and improve service

Photo courtesy Sarasota County

Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) will host four public workshops in December to gather comments on proposed service changes in the cities of North Port, Venice and Sarasota, as well as the Town of Longboat Key, the county has announced.

“The proposed service changes are aimed at improving SCAT service and address budget impacts,” a news release explains. They are not related to the Request for Proposals the County Commission has called for, in seeking information about privatizing transit operations, the release points out.

Changes are being considered to the following routes and services, the release says:

  • Route 13, serving Venice and South Venice.
  • Route 23, serving Venice Island Loop.
  • Route 18, serving downtown Sarasota and Longboat Key Bay Isles.
  • Elimination of route 100X, which has stops at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, in downtown Sarasota and in North Port.
  • Modifying Saturday service times to conform to Sunday service times.

The community workshops will be held at the following locations and times, the release notes:

  • Tuesday, Dec. 4, from noon to 1:30 p.m.at the Francis T. Bourne Jacaranda Public Library, located at 4143 Woodmere Park Blvd. in Venice.
  • Tuesday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at theNorth Port Public Library, located at 13800 S. Tamiami Trail in North Port.
  • Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at theVenice Community Center, located at 326 Nokomis Ave. S. in Venice.
  • Thursday, Dec. 6, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.atFire Station No. 3, located at 47 N. Adams Drive in Sarasota.

For more information, call the county Contact Center at 861-5000 or visit scgov.net.