# Palm Tran

Palm Tran is the public transit bus system run by the Palm Beach County Government, serving Palm Beach County, Florida. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 8,612,200, or about 29,700 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024. Palm Tran also serves a portion of Broward County, Florida where it overlaps with Broward County Transit. Palm Tran has four main facilities (North Campus in West Palm Beach, South Campus in Delray Beach, Palm Tran Connection/Military Trail and the Belle Glade Facility) with its main headquarters in West Palm Beach on Electronics Way. The current executive director is Clinton B. Forbes.

## History

In 1971, Florida Transit Management, Inc. (a subsidiary of National City) began service with 20 buses on seven routes. In 1980, this service was expanded to over 60 buses in 22 routes, then renamed CoTran, short for "County Transportation". Finally, in 1996, CoTran was completely restructured to over 150 buses in over 30 routes, then renamed Palm Tran, its fleet repainted to the present white and teal design scheme, and has been that way since. At that time the basic design of the livery of the buses was changed from white and orange to white and teal, some of which are screen-wrapped to the logos and design of the company that sponsors those particular buses, but preserve their Palm Tran logos and bus numbers, the latter of which are assigned a four-digit number according to the year and order in which they were acquired. Also at that time, Florida Transit Management was replaced with Palm Tran Inc., a nonprofit. Palm Tran will introduce USB charging stations on its newest fleet in early 2017.
On September 30, 2018, Palm Tran implemented the first overhaul to the entire network since 1996. In addition, free Wi-Fi was added on all buses.

## Future

On April 23, 2019, The Palm Tran broke ground on an expansion project on its South County Facility in Delray Beach, Florida. The current 3,800 Square foot space will be converted into a three-story 34,000 square foot facility. The project is set to cost 25 million, 90 percent of which is federally funded. The facility will feature charging stations for their fleet of fully electric buses; along with service stations for 20 additional buses. The building will feature art by Palm Beach County's Art in Public Places Program.

## Rates

Plexiglass shields on the driver's side are in place, to reduce interaction.
The standard adult one-way fare is $2. People eligible for the reduced fare, such as students, disabled, and senior citizens, pay $1. $5 buys an unlimited 24-hour pass ($3.50 for reduced fare). Daily and 31-day unlimited ride passes are also available for purchase at Palm Tran Connection. There are 31-day unlimited passes that are available reduced or regular costing $55 and $70 respectively. Kids below 9 ride free with fare-paying rider, limit is 3.

## Bus technology

All Palm Tran buses have bicycle racks on the front, capable of holding two bikes. They are also equipped GPS and video surveillance cameras which record activity on the bus and the outer side facing the bus stops. Recently Palm Tran has equipped all fixed-route buses with automatic vehicle location technology that enables passengers to track buses and bus arrivals in real time. Palm Tran also offers real-time bus arrival information on its website or through its MyStop Mobile app, as well as on-demand through SMS. In October 2018, all 159 fixed route buses started to offer free Wi-Fi to its riders.
Palm Tran announced plans to incorporate new payment methods in addition to cash. The new upgrades will allow the service to accept credit cards and smartphone payments. The upgrade was set to cost between 5 million and 6 million dollars.

## Palm Tran Connection

Palm Tran Connection is a shared ride, door to door, paratransit service that provides transportation for residents and visitors in Palm Beach County under six programs:
* Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Program
* Transportation Disadvantaged (TD) Program
* Division of Senior Services (DOSS) Program
Palm Tran Connection is operated by private transport companies and oversight is provided through Palm Tran. They travel to every destination in Palm Beach County – from Jupiter to Boca Raton and from Palm Beach to South Bay. Palm Tran Connection schedules all trips, prepares vehicle manifests, handles customer concerns & commendations, determines eligibility, and monitors the performance of the Transportation Providers. The fare for ADA and TD is $3.50 per one way. DOSS is free to meal sites.

## Route list

Routes are divided into four regions within the county.

### Main Corridor

Main Corridor routes traverse the primary north–south surface roads of the county from Boca Raton in the south to Riviera Beach in the north.
| Route | Terminals | Terminals | Terminals | Primary streets traveled |
| 1 | Palm Beach Gardens The Gardens Mall | ↔ | Boca Raton Camino Real | US 1 |
| 2 | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | ↔ | Boca Raton Town Center Mall | Congress Avenue |
| 3 | Palm Beach Gardens The Gardens Mall | ↔ | Boca Raton Town Center Mall | Military Trail |
| 4 | West Palm Beach Military Crossing | ↔ | Riviera Beach VA Medical Center | Haverhill Road |

### North County

North County routes mainly serve Palm Beach Gardens, Riviera Beach, and Jupiter.
| Route | Terminals | Terminals | Terminals | Primary streets traveled | Service notes |
| 10 | Palm Beach Gardens The Gardens Mall | ↔ | Jupiter Jupiter Town Hall | Indiantown Road, Military Trail | No Sunday service |
| 20 | Palm Beach Gardens The Gardens Mall | ↔ | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | Northlake Boulevard, Congress Avenue | |
| 21 | Palm Beach Gardens The Gardens Mall | ↔ | Mangonia Park Tri-Rail Station | US 1, Old Dixie Highway | No Sunday service |
| 30 | Riviera Beach VA Medical Center | ↔ | Singer Island Lake Drive | Blue Heron Boulevard | |
| 31 | Riviera Beach VA Medical Center | ↔ | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | 45th Street, Tamarind Avenue | |
| 33 | Palm Beach Gardens The Gardens Mall | ↔ | West Palm Beach Cross County Plaza | Australian Avenue, Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard | |

### Central County

Central County routes serve West Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth, and Belle Glade.
| Route | Terminals | Terminals | Terminals | Primary streets traveled | Service notes |
| 40 | Belle Glade West Tech Education Center | ↔ | Wellington Mall at Wellington Green | Southern Boulevard | |
| 40 | Belle Glade West Tech Education Center | ↔ | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | Southern Boulevard, Australian Avenue | Rush hour service only |
| 41 | Palm Beach Palm Beach Inlet | ↔ | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | North County Road | No Sunday service |
| 43 | Wellington Mall at Wellington Green | ↔ | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | Okeechobee Boulevard | |
| 44 | West Palm Beach Vista Center | ↔ | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | Belvedere Road, Cherry Road | |
| 46 | Wellington Mall at Wellington Green | ↔ | West Palm Beach Palm Coast Plaza | Forest Hill Boulevard | |
| 47 | Canal Point Community Center | ↔ | South Bay Second Street | SR 15, SR 715 | |
| 52 | Wellington Mall at Wellington Green | ↔ | Loxahatchee Groves Palm Beach State College | SR 7, Royal Palm Beach Boulevard | No Sunday service |
| 60 | Greenacres River Bridge Centre | ↔ | West Palm Beach Intermodal Transit Center | Purdy Lane, Summit Boulevard, Parker Avenue | No Sunday service |
| 61 | Greenacres River Bridge Centre | ↔ | Lake Worth Palm Beach State College | Cresthaven Boulevard, 10th Avenue North | |
| 62 | Wellington Mall at Wellington Green | ↔ | Lake Worth Lake Worth Beach | Lake Worth Road | |
| 63 | West Palm Beach Vista Center | ↔ | Lantana Hypoluxo Road & US 1 | Jog Road, Lantana Road | |
| 64 | Greenacres WIC Center | ↔ | Lantana County Public Health | Melaleuca Lane, 6th Avenue South | No Sunday service |

### South County

South County routes mainly serve the cities of Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton.
| Route | Terminals | Terminals | Terminals | Primary streets traveled | Service notes |
| 70 | Lantana County Public Health | ↔ | Delray Beach Tri-Rail Station | Seacrest Boulevard | |
| 71 | Boynton Beach Lantana Road & Military Trail | ↔ | Boynton Beach Boynton Beach Mall | Lawrence Road | No Sunday service |
| 73 | Boynton Beach Bethesda Hospital West | ↔ | Boynton Beach Tri-Rail Station | Boynton Beach Boulevard | |
| 80 | Delray Beach Delray Square | ↔ | Delray Beach Plaza at Delary | Lake Ida Road, SW 4th Avenue | |
| 81 | Delray Beach Hagen Ranch Library | ↔ | Delray Beach Atlantic Avenue & SE 6th Street | Atlantic Avenue | No Sunday service |
| 88 | Delray Beach Lakes of Delray | ↔ | Delray Beach Plaza at Delray | Linton Boulevard, Lowson Boulevard | |
| 91 | Boca Raton Sandalfoot Square | ↔ | Boca Raton Florida Atlantic University | Glades Road | |
| 92 | Boca Raton Sandalfoot Square | ↔ | Deerfield Beach Hillsboro Boulevard & Federal Highway | Palmetto Park Road | No Sunday service |
| 94 | Boca Raton Tri-Rail Station | ↔ | Boca Raton Camino Real & Federal Highway | NW 8th Avenue, NE 20th Street | Serves Florida Atlantic University |