As a resident of Seminole County, one may have started to notice the abundance of big Volkswagen vans recently. On the road, they’re quite hard to miss. In fact, one of the details that make the vans so visible is the bright, green and blue writing on the side of the vehicle- Scout. After noticing these vans on the road, one may assume that they are a type of rideshare, but what are these Scout vans really?
Well, they are! According to Seminole County’s website, these vehicles are here to provide public transportation to the citizens of Seminole County. Scout is the name of the program, and the goal of the program is to scout out those who need transportation exactly when they need it. Scout is an on-demand rideshare, meaning that the vehicles come to anyone who calls one exactly when they need it. Also according to the Seminole County website, there are no fixed routes programmed for the rideshare. This makes Scout buses easily accessible and reliable, as it does not require waiting at a specific stop. Scout provides service to all of Seminole County, including Lake Mary, Sanford, and Oviedo.
One may wonder if the rideshare is free to anyone. Unfortunately, Scout does cost money. However, because it is a public service, Scout costs less than other rideshare services, such as Uber. Riders select their route and payment method within the Scout app- Ride Freebee- which is free for download. Additionally, Scout is only available during certain times of the day. On the Seminole county website, riders can see that Scout is only on the roads from five in the morning through nine at night on Mondays through Fridays. On Saturdays, Scout is available from six in the morning through ten at night. On Sundays, the hours are from six in the morning to nine at night, one hour less than on Saturdays.
One of the many benefits of Scout for Seminole County residents is the increase in public transportation. Instead of driving personal cars to work or other third places, Scout offers the opportunity to help reduce the amount of cars on the road, in turn reducing individual carbon footprint. Another benefit is that there are no scheduled routes, so residents are free to go directly to their destination. This is a big plus for riders because they do not have to wait at specific stops.
Although there are some cons to Scout, such as cost. Scout encourages public transportation, yet still charges riders. Prices for rides are still relatively affordable. However, when compared to prices of other forms of public transportation, such as buses, the cost is higher on the Scout side.
One student at Seminole High School (SHS) shares their opinions about the appearance of the new vans on the road. Eva Cuciuc, a sophomore, says that “the vans allow easy access to new places or anywhere a person would need to go.” Cuciuc says “the vans are good for Seminole County because they are affordable for many people and make public transportation easy for pedestrians.” She also states that “public transportation is necessary for going to different places with easy access,” reflecting the ideals and goals of the Scout program.
Another student at SHS, junior Sh’nia Medlock, believes the Scout vans are “good because they help people get around town more, or go to places that they need to.” Medlock adds “I saw a lot of them on the road, and [they are] hard to miss.”
Overall, the Scout program is beneficial for Seminole county, and will hopefully bring much more opportunities for residents in the future!