Could Tourist Dollars Be The Answer to Our Transit Funding Problem?
While the approach hasn’t been tested, with political will, and an inclination to challenge old assumptions, nothing should be off the table. And we can make the visitor experience better too.
🎯 Sunset Gridlock, Islands-Wide
August 31, 2025. It’s sunset in Islamorada. Or Marathon. Perhaps Key West. You’re trying to get to dinner, but traffic is backed up, parking is scarce, and the scenic drive feels more like a crawl. Sound familiar?
Ask any server up the Keys—they’ll tell you the hardest part of their shift isn’t the work. It’s the drive.
Visitors love The Florida Keys & Key West—but they don’t love the gridlock. Locals want better transit but worry about the cost. And now, the long-promised fixes—regional coordination, expanded and more frequent service—are slipping away.
From the Overseas Highway to Old Town, from resort corridors to beach access points—gridlock is a Keys-wide experience for tourists, workers, and residents alike. But the fix needn’t be elusive. It may be sitting in plain sight—if leaders are willing to invest in long-standing plans and fund them with a source they’ve overlooked for years. AND it will make the visitor experience better. That’s what we’ll unpack below.
🧨 Cuts and Broken Promises
In the past few months, both Monroe County and the City of Key West have begun walking back ambitious transit plans—largely in response to budget cuts from Washington and Tallahassee. The region’s over-reliance on these sources means that when those shrink, the vision does too.
- The County has eliminated Conch Connect. Its Transit Department—and its director—are on the chopping block. And with them, the vision for expanded service may disappear too.
- The City has proposed eliminating the Duval Loop and cutting back Key West Rides and part of the Workforce Express. Their 10-year plan for transit modernization? Now at risk.
Instead of building on momentum, the region is bracing for contraction. The promise of a connected, efficient transit system—one that serves both visitors and workers across the Keys—is slipping away.
So, we ask: What’s the plan now? What’s the local strategy to keep transit alive?
💰 The Hidden Funding Source
If the grants are drying up, what’s left? Turns out, quite a bit.
What if there were a more stable, local source of funding—already being collected from tourists themselves?
Every time a visitor books a hotel or vacation rental in Monroe County, they pay a Tourist Development Tax (TDT)—a bed tax that generated over $60 million in FY 2024. See Monroe County’s FY 2024 Annual Report (PDF)
Most of it goes to advertising the Keys. Some goes to beach maintenance and historic preservation and events. But none of it currently funds buses.
| Category | Amount | Source |
| Monroe County TDT Revenue (FY 2024) | $61.5 million | FY 2024 Annual Report (PDF) |
| Transit Funding from TDT | $0 | FY 2024 Annual Report (PDF) |
| Marketing Spend | Estimated $30–40 million | FY 2024 Annual Report (PDF) |
*All figures sourced from Monroe County FY 2024 Annual Report.
That’s not a knock on marketing. The Florida Keys & Key West team at the TDC does a great job promoting the region—and smart marketing is essential to a healthy tourism economy.
But if even a small portion of that budget were redirected to transit, the return on investment could be enormous: better mobility, happier visitors, and stronger support for the workers who keep the economy running.
If only it were that easy. The Tourist Development Tax has a narrow legal purpose—and until now, its boundaries haven’t been fully explored.
⚖️ What the Law May Allow
There’s a lot of confusion—especially online—about what the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) can and can’t fund. Some say, “it’s only for marketing.” Others say, “you can’t touch it.” So, what does the law actually say? Can this funding source be used for transit—or is that just wishful thinking?
Here’s what we think: Florida law allows TDT funds to be used for tourist serving transit—IF the County and the Tourist Development Council (TDC) approve.
Specifically, Section 125.0104 of the Florida Statutes outlines the permitted uses of TDT revenue. Among them is a provision that allows funding for activities and services whose main purpose is to attract tourists—as long as that purpose is clearly demonstrated.
That could mean buses, shuttles, and other transit services can be funded with TDT dollars—if they’re designed and promoted as tourism-serving services.
We get that this is not automatic. The County and TDC would need to vote to allocate funds. And the County Attorney’s Office would need to find a way to yes too.
But the idea that it’s illegal or impossible? False. Not if there’s a will to find a way to that yes.
Our reasoning is supported by Florida Attorney General Opinion AGO 2017-06, which confirms that transportation services clearly intended to attract tourism can be funded with TDT dollars.
That opinion also notes that a County must make a case-by-case factual determination—based on factors like promotion, purpose, and usage—to show that the service is designed to attract tourists. Importantly, the law doesn’t require transit to bring in new tourists—it requires that it be designed and promoted as part of the tourism experience. Here’s a quote from the opinion:
“Nothing in section 125.0104(5), Florida Statutes, suggests that the tourist development tax is a broad funding source. Rather, the tax revenues are a targeted funding source to directly and primarily promote tourism.”[5] Thus, such revenues cannot be used to fund a public transit system for the citizens of Walton County that would incidentally benefit tourists. Instead, to warrant use of tourist development tax revenues for transportation services under subsection (5)(a)3., there must be a clear and direct relationship between the promotion of tourism and the particular transportation service being offered.[6] Such transportation services should involve routes and schedules addressing the specific needs of tourists, and might include, for example, a shuttle connecting hotels and motels with county tourist attractions.”
That’s already happening with services like the Duval Loop downtown and Freebee in Islamorada. We think the Lower Keys Shuttle qualifies too as it connects resorts with restaurants, shops and destinations. As would an envisioned Overseas Highway from Key Largo to Old Town Key West route. With the right framing, Monroe County wouldn’t be bending the rules—it would be using them as intended.
This approach hasn’t been tested in Monroe County. Or anywhere else, just yet that we can find. So, if our Commissioners and business leaders don’t want to use TDT money to support tourist serving transit, it would be really easy to say, no it can’t be done and move on.
But if they do indeed, as they profess, support transit that would make life better for visitors, workers and residents it would take them marshaling a legal review, harnessing the political will, and a demonstrating a willingness to challenge old assumptions.
It’s not guaranteed—but it’s not prohibited. And it’s time to stop shutting down the conversation and start exploring the possibilities.
For those who want to read the statute directly, here’s the 2019 version of Section 125.0104. And here’s the Florida Attorney General Opinion AGO 2017-06.
🚍 The Transit Twofer: Enhancing the Keys Experience, Amplifying the Brand or Why TDT Funds Should Be Used for Transit
Transit isn’t just a fix for gridlock—it’s a strategic investment in the visitor experience that amplifies the island chain’s appeal and markets the free-and-easy spirit that makes the Keys different from the mainland.
🛠️ Enhancing the Visitor Experience and the “Only In the Keys” Brand
- The Overseas Highway is over capacity, and the TDC promotes “driving the Keys” as part of the experience. But in reality, traffic congestion often turns that experience into a frustrating slog.
- During afternoon rush and dinner hours, traffic bottlenecks in villages throughout the Keys—especially in Key West, Islamorada, and Marathon—make it hard for visitors to reach restaurants and attractions. Parking is scarce, and the experience suffers.
- Workers who can’t afford to live near their jobs must drive long distances, worsening congestion and making them less reliable to employers.
📣 Reinforcing the TDC’s Marketing by Driving Promotion
- 🚌 Branded buses = rolling billboards seen by thousands of visitors daily – imagine buses going up and down the Overseas Highway with The Florida Keys & Key West logo. Same with the Duval Loop and other buses.
- 📲 QR codes and signage onboard the bus and at all the bus stops can drive traffic to TDC websites, events, and promotions.
- 🏖️ Improved visitor mobility means more spending at restaurants, shops, and attractions. Visitor research says that many tourists won’t walk the full length of Duval or will skip the Seaport or other parts of town if they don’t have an easy option like the Duval Loop. Same thing in Villages up the Keys. If traffic is a nightmare, visitors are more likely to stay in the resort and not venture out to those local Mom and Pop places.
That’s the twofer: real solutions for real problems, and smart marketing that amplifies the islands’ appeal.
It’s time to stop treating transit as a cost center—and start seeing it as a strategic investment in making the visitor experience even better.
🧠 Smart Policy, Real Action
Depending upon federal and state grants has proven foolhardy over the years. TDT should be considered as just one of a number of potential new local non-property tax or general fund sources. And perhaps we’ll dive into some of those in the future. But for today, using TDT for transit is a win-win:
- Doesn’t touch property taxes or the general fund.
- Keeps tourists moving and spending.
- Supports workers who keep the tourism economy running.
- Legally allowed under Florida law—IF the County and TDC approve.
And now is the time. The County and City budget processes heat up in September, and decisions are being made that will shape the future of transit in the Keys.
If you care about mobility, tourism, or the workers who make this place run—write your Commissioners now.
📬 Here’s how to speak up and talk to your Commissioners.
Reimagine the Keys as a place where tourists ride, not drive—where mobility isn’t a luxury, but a shared investment in the region’s future. Where visitors experience the island chain in a way that’s different from their car-centric mainland routines—and where residents and workers have the freedom to do the same.
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Chris Hamilton is the founder of Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown, a local advocacy group championing sustainable mobility and vibrant public spaces. Subscribe to the blog and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Substack for updates. All stories are cross posted at KONK Life News. Originally from Washington, D.C., Chris spent over two decades leading nationally acclaimed initiatives in transit, biking, walking, and smart growth for Arlington County, VA’s DOT. Since moving to Key West in 2015, he has embraced a car-free lifestyle downtown, dedicating his time to non-profits and community projects. Explore all Streets for People column articles here.