Sarasota and Manatee float combined bus service

The two largest chambers of commerce in Sarasota and Manatee counties have jointly launched a website, smartransit.org, to promote a public/private operating partnership for transportation in the region.

A partnership between bus systems in both counties, according to a statement from the chambers, could save taxpayers millions of dollars a year. Residents in both counties currently fund more than 65% of the fixed-route transit services, the release says, which cost around $30 million a year.

The Manatee Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce put the website together. The site has information about the concepts and benefits of transportation partnerships, in addition to a feedback form.

“Rather than operate as separate entities,” the release from the chambers says, “our region would benefit far greater from a co-managed platform that would service the ridership as a Sarasota Manatee Area Regional Transit system. The concept is smart —it's innovative, it's better for the ridership, and it's better for the taxpayer.”