When Seminole County launches its new on-demand microtransit service this fall, riders will pay higher fares — more than double in some cases — for a trip in a minivan than they do for a Lynx bus ride, county documents show.

Despite the higher costs, county officials are banking that riders will want to spend more to avoid walking to a bus stop and waiting outside for a Lynx bus that will take them to limited places. The new Scout door-to-door service will pick riders up at their homes or offices and take them nearly anywhere in the county.

“I think it’s going to be more popular than folks getting on a Lynx bus,” Commission Chair Jay Zembower said Tuesday at a board meeting. “It’s certainly going to be more efficient. And I think, at the end of the day, it’s probably going to be much more user-friendly.”

The new, higher fares have not been discussed publicly, and the Orlando Sentinel obtained details Thursday.

Operated by Miami-based Freebee, the new Scout service will start Oct. 15 and eventually replace most Lynx bus routes throughout the county. Seminole will kick off limited service next month to test it out.

Here’s how it will work: Riders can request a Scout ride using the Freebee app on their smart phones, or by calling Freebee’s dispatch center. Then, in under 30 minutes, a van — either a Volkswagen ID Buzz or Toyota Sienna — will be dispatched to their location, according to county documents.

Scout vans will operate within five zones in the county, excluding most of the county’s rural boundary on Seminole’s east side. A base fare is estimated at roughly $3 or $4 for a trip within a zone. Fare rates would increase by about $1 for each zone the rider travels into. Discounted fares will be available for seniors, students and low-income riders, according to county documents.

By comparison, a Lynx single ride fare is $2, or $4.50 for an all day pass.

“It could certainly add up,” said Adriana Rodriguez, about the more expensive Scout fares as she waited at the Lynx super stop in Fern Park to transfer buses. “Will they have enough vans to handle all these people that ride the buses every day? I don’t know.”

Jason Spiegel, Freebee’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said fares are still being worked out, and his company will present more details on prices at the Aug. 26 commission meeting.

“But one of the best parts of this service is that you’re not going to be waiting outside in the hot sun. You’re going to be waiting in your home or your office,” he said. “And as this program launches, it’s going to take off like a wildfire.”

The hours will be from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 6 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., on Saturdays; and 6 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., on Sundays.

Scout is only an on-demand service, and riders will not be able to pre-schedule a pick up, Spiegel said.

Initially, Freebee will operate a fleet of 35 vehicles. If demand increases, more vehicles will be added to reduce wait times.

Seminole will pay about $5 million for the first year. If the number of vehicles is increased to 55, it will cost the county about $7.8 million.

By comparison, Seminole will pay about $17 million this fiscal year for Lynx. The Orlando-based bus service charges Seminole based on the number of routes and frequency of service the county requests. Seminole officials have long worried about Lynx’s rising costs especially when they often saw nearly empty buses on their roads.

But Lynx is not leaving Seminole entirely. The routes with the most riders — primarily along the Orange County border — will continue to operate. Lynx also will continue its paratransit service for low-income and elderly riders along with those who have physical or mental disabilities.

For the the Lynx system replaced by Scout vans, buses will stop running routes on Jan. 10. Lynx and Seminole will post signs at bus stops informing riders of the change.

Founded in 2012, Freebee currently provides similar micro-transit services in roughly 50 communities around Florida — including Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, St. Pete Beach, Deerfield Beach and Bradenton.

Monroe County contracted with Freebee in July 2024 to launch its Conch Connect, a similar micro-transit service that shuttled riders between Stock Island and Key West. However, Monroe commissioners decided to discontinue the service during budget hearings last July because of costs and low ridership.

“We purposefully set our program up with the hopes it would be a ride share effort and with a goal to remove vehicles off our main road,” Monroe County Administrator Christine Hurley said in an email. “After it operated for almost a year, we learned it had (an average) of 1.28 people per ride, which wasn’t enough from our Board’s perspective.”

Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine said he’s “very happy that we’re not the first” to dive into a micro-transit service.

“This is going to be an exciting opportunity for all the citizens of Seminole County,” he said. “But we have to be in it for the long haul. It can’t be something that as soon as someone decides to complain about it, we go back and change the whole thing. The citizens have to understand that we’re going to have problems at first. There’s no question.”