What you need to know:
- Ride DTO, downtown Orlando's $1 on-demand shuttle, hit 50,000 rides in roughly 17 months
- The Community Redevelopment Agency has spent $556,197 on the program — about $11 per ride
- Days before the milestone announcement, the CRA issued an RFP opening the service to competitive bidding
- The new solicitation envisions up to five years, compared to the current two-year deal
- Proposals are due March 26; Circuit, the current operator, is eligible to bid
Downtown Orlando’s $1 on-demand shuttle has reached 50,000 rides, and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is now seeking bids for a new contract up to five times longer than the original deal.
Days before announcing the milestone, the CRA issued a request for proposals that opens the service to any qualified bidder. The original contract with operator Circuit Transit Inc. has no remaining renewal options, and the current deal expires June 19.
What it costs
The CRA has spent $556,197.25 on Ride DTO since the service launched Oct. 7, 2024, according to figures provided on the record through the city’s communications office. At 50,000 rides over roughly 17 months, that works out to $11.12 per ride, with riders paying $1.
Asked whether the program is delivering value at that cost, Commissioner Patty Sheehan, whose district includes downtown, said it is “about the going rate for a rideshare. So yes.” She said she has heard from residents who “utilize and enjoy the program” and has “no problem with the scale of successful programs.”
How the contract ran out
City Council approved the original contract on June 10, 2024. The deal authorized spending up to $595,712.50 for a one-year term with one renewal option. Actual spending has tracked below that ceiling because Circuit is compensated at an hourly rate per vehicle, so costs follow fleet deployment rather than a fixed fee.
The CRA exercised the sole renewal on June 18, 2025, extending the contract through June 19, 2026. With no further extensions available, the CRA issued the new RFP on Feb. 18.
A bigger deal
The new solicitation calls for a three-year initial term with two optional 12-month extensions, for up to five years total. The fleet requirement would scale from five vehicles up to 10. Vehicles must be electric or hybrid, broadening the current all-electric requirement. And service hours would expand, pushing closing time two hours later for most of the fleet.
The CRA said the extended hours address a gap. “Our previous 8:00 p.m. conclusion often left diners and theater-goers without a return option,” the agency said.
The fleet must include at least one ADA-accessible vehicle at all times.
What the numbers don’t show
The CRA says it receives monthly reports from Circuit on ridership, peak usage and average wait times but has not released those reports publicly or shared trend data showing whether monthly rides are increasing, holding steady or declining. The agency says it has not conducted a formal program evaluation, describing its oversight as a “structured reporting cadence” with the service provider.
At about 99 rides per day across five vehicles, the service averages roughly 20 rides per vehicle per day over the life of the program.
What’s next
The CRA says it is “fully committed to the continued success of the Ride DTO service” and that “there is a clear intent to keep the program operational.” But the vendor may change. Proposals are due March 26, and Circuit is eligible to bid.
Updated March 6, 2026: For clarity and brevity.
This story was developed using AI analysis of public records, official transcripts and interview responses from sources. See our editorial standards for more information about how we produce coverage.