Manatee County Area Transit

Last updated
Manatee County Area Transit
Manatee County Area Transit Logo.png
Overview
Owner Manatee County, Florida
Area servedManatee County
LocaleManatee County
Transit type bus service
Daily ridership6,900 (weekdays, Q2 2025) [1]
Annual ridership(2024) [2]
Headquarters2411 Tallevast Road
Sarasota, FL 34243
Website www.mymanatee.org/departments/mcat

Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) is the public transportation provider for Manatee County, Florida and is operated by the county. the system had about 6,900 riders per weekday as of the second quarter of 2025.

Contents

Routes

MCAT operates __ local bus routes, most of which operate Monday through Saturday. [3]

RouteName
1Ellenton Outlet Mall
2East Bradenton
3Manatee Avenue
49th Avenue
6Cortez Road
8Oneco-Bayshore Gardens
99th Avenue West / 26th Street
12State Road 70
13Palmetto
1615th Street East
99Bradenton / Sarasota
201North County Connexion
203SkyWay Connexion
304Manatee Avenue West, Manatee Beach
PMXPort Manatee Connection Shuttle
TrolleyAnna Maria Island
TrolleyBeach Express
ShuttleLongboat Key

Fares

The regular bus fare is $1.50 on all local fixed routes. Discounted fares of $0.75 are available for students, disabled (with mobility card), seniors, medicare card holders, and active duty and military veterans. There is no fare for children 5 years or younger and seniors 80 and older. There is no fare for the Anna Maria Island Trolley and the Sunday Beach Express. Discounted fares are not available for the Longboat Key Shuttle.

Unlimited ride cards ("M Cards") are available for purchase for 1 day, 7 day, or 31 days. Regular and discounted rates are available. There is also a 31-day regional pass ("R Card") available for purchase. This pass is good for unlimited rides on both MCAT and Sarasota County Area Transit buses.

Riders can also purchase and access their bus passes using the Token Transit mobile ticketing app for both local and regional fares. [4]

Fleet

MCAT bus at Downtown Bradenton Transit Station Mcat bus at station boarding passengers banner.jpg
MCAT bus at Downtown Bradenton Transit Station

MCAT's fleet consists of Gillig Phantom, Low Floor, Low Floor BRT, and Replica Trolley. They operate both diesel and diesel-electric hybrid buses. [5]

In 2018, MCAT was awarded $1.9 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration to replace or rehabilitate their fleet of buses. [6]


References

  1. "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2025" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. August 27, 2025. Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  2. "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. February 19, 2025. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  3. "Holiday Service". www.mymanatee.org. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  4. White, D'Ann Lawrence (22 April 2018). "Manatee Transit Now Offers Mobile Ticketing Outside County". Patch.com. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  5. "MCAT Transit Vehicle Fleet". The Global Transit Guidebook by HARTride 2012. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  6. "MCAT awarded $1.9 million federal grant for bus fleet rehabilitation". www.mymanatee.org. Retrieved 2019-12-21.