Altamonte Springs will be the first city in the entire country to become a fully-integrated Uber city.

The city is teaming up with the ride-share service. Riders going to and from places within the city will get a 20 percent discount on their fare and if you’re going to and from the Altamonte Springs SunRail station you’ll get an additional five-percent discount.

City leaders hope the one-year pilot program will increase SunRail ridership, cut down on some of the city’s traffic congestion, and offer flexible transportation options.

"Uber has become a key part of meeting the transportation needs of many individuals," said Frank Martz, Altamonte Springs City Manager. "Our goal is to evaluate the impact that ride-hailing and technology can have on our overall mobility plan - getting people to work, school and our local businesses as we continue to grow and innovate as a city."

The leaders of several Seminole County cities and Congressman John Mica, whose district includes Altamonte Springs, were at the announcement Friday.



Mica says the program will save people money. “Some of my family has used the Uber to get to SunRail because it’s very cost-effective, and if you’re going a long distance, which SunRail does, it saves you a lot of money by using the combination,” said Mica.

Uber says it will create and monitor a geofence around the city limits. The technology will capture and discount all qualifying trips. By entering promo code 'ALTAMONTE' and requesting trips through the Altamonte option within the Uber app, riders will automatically receive the discount.

Gretzel Aponte lives in Sanford, goes to UCF and works off I-Drive. For her, escaping traffic – is impossible. She says she is excited to hear about the new partnership between Altamonte Springs and Uber.



“I can leave as early as I can, but I can be stuck in traffic for like the longest time,” said Aponte. “I can come here and go to the mall and I don’t have to worry about a car, and just take an Uber. One less stress for sure, not to worry about a car payment.”



The leaders of several Seminole County cities were in attendance at Friday’s announcement of the new partnership. Sanford’s city manager tells News 13 Sanford city leaders are expected to discuss possibly forming their own partnership with the ride-sharing service soon.

Altamonte Springs City Manager Frank Martz tells News 13 that $500,000 is budgeted to pay for the discounts. Martz says that money is a combination of city money and funding from private sources.



The discounts will begin Monday, March 21.

