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Citrus Connection will convert The Squeeze into an Uber-style, app-based service that will connect downtown and Dixieland without transfers beginning Oct. 1. It will remain a free service.
The plan replaces one for an additional Dixieland route that was announced last year but never materialized.
“We’re going to skip that whole step,” Citrus Connection CEO Tom Phillips said of the original Dixieland route proposal.
Phillips said the mobility-on-demand model solves several problems at once.
“To get from Florida Southern to Cob & Pen or Pink Piano, you’d have to either walk — which is not the point — or transfer downtown, which nobody’s going to do,” he said.
How the new system will work
Phillips unveiled the plan at the Lakeland-Area Mass Transit District’s board of directors meeting on May 13.
He said the new version of The Squeeze will work more like Uber or Lyft. Riders will use a smartphone app to request rides between designated pickup and drop-off locations, rather than waiting along a fixed loop.
The proposed service area includes 15 stops. It will cover the entire area from Cob & Pen to the south, Florida Southern College to the east, Prospect Lake Wire apartments to the west, and the Oak Street Parking lot to the north.
The app, called Spare, has already been purchased and will be configured in September. Citrus Connection plans a soft launch that month before officially launching the service Oct. 1.
Pickup times, not dropoff promises
Riders will receive pickup estimates and GPS tracking for approaching vehicles. But because the service is shared, riders will not receive guaranteed drop-off times.
“The only difference between us and Uber and Lyft is everything’s based on a shared ride service,” Phillips said.
Weekend service will continue operating from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturdays. Lunch service will also transition to app-based booking, but coverage will remain limited to downtown and The Joinery, rather than expanding into Dixieland.
Phillips said temporary stops will be added for special events, such as Mayfaire-by-the-Lake. However, park-and-ride service for Sun ‘n Fun and Detroit Tigers Spring Training will remain as fixed routes.
Why Citrus Connection changed course
Under the earlier concept, Citrus Connection would have kept the existing downtown loop and added a separate Dixieland route with a transfer point near Munn Park.
Phillips said the agency concluded that riders would find the transfer awkward and inconvenient.
Instead of buying additional shuttles and hiring more drivers for a second route, Citrus Connection can use the existing fleet more efficiently while expanding the service area.
“There’s no significant incremental cost increase to us adding Dixieland and doing mobility on demand,” Phillips said.
A very popular service
Phillips said The Squeeze grew from about 4,000 rides in its first year to 14,000 the next year and roughly 44,000 rides in 2025.
As the service became busier, drivers sometimes stopped following the full loop when carts filled up. Instead, they would take riders directly to their destination before returning downtown — a practical decision that sometimes left people waiting at other stops.
“Rather than constantly looking out the Joinery window to see, ‘OK, a Squeeze just went by. Hurry up, guys. We’ve got 15 minutes ’til it comes back,’” Phillips said, the new app-based system eliminates uncertainty by giving riders real-time pickup estimates.
“It may say the next Squeeze is available in 18 minutes, but at least you know,” he said.
Phillips said the late-night service has become especially popular with Florida Southern College students heading home safely after nights downtown.
“We’ve had zero alcohol-related issues,” he said. “The late-night Squeeze is really working.”
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