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Showing posts from 2019

The public needs to sound off Wednesday to improve Lynx bus service

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If you have difficulty getting from Point A to Point B in Central Florida, then you should attend a very important meeting scheduled for this Wednesday (Aug. 21). The meeting was called by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings to discuss transportation -- everything from roads to SunRail and the Lynx bus system. During his first State of the County address Demings floated the idea of seeking voter approval for a 1-cent sales tax increase in Orange County to help pay for needed improvements to public transportation. In that speech, Demings said, “I am convinced that now is the time for us to seek multi-modal transportation options that will increase frequency of public transit so more people will use it,” Mayor Demings said. “Now is the time to collectively arrive at a comprehensive solution that will foster an environment where a transportation network is fully funded. I invite our community to consider support of a sales tax referendum to prepare for the future today

Lynx changes bus stops in Pine Hills

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Pay attention if you or your friends ride the Lynx bus in the Pine Hills area. As of Friday (6/26) Lynx  will no longer serve the bus terminal in the parking lot of Park Promenade Plaza in Pine Hills. Transfers between bus routes will be made at the intersection of Hiawassee Road and Silver Star Road. ·         Link 37 – last stop northbound will be at the new bus stop on the northwest corner in front of Bank of America. Southbound buses will board at the bus stop on the southwest corner by Walgreens. ·         Link 44 – last stop southbound will be at the new bus stop on the northwest corner in front of Bank of America. Northbound buses will board at the bus shelter on Hiawassee Road in front of Popeye’s. ·         Link 48 – last stop westbound will be at the new bus stop on the northwest corner in front of Bank of America. Eastbound buses will board at the bus stops on the southeast and southwest corners. ·         Link 301 – last bus stop westbound will be on the

Lynx will be changing some bus schedules soon

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Lynx announced that it’s changing some routes, schedules, and even bus stop locations. These changes go into effect on April 28. Here is what will happen: ROUTE ADJUSTMENTS ·         Link 155 – The Loop/Buena Ventura Lakes/Osceola Parkway (Osceola County) – The route will now travel between Greenwald Way and Centerview Boulevard via Osceola Parkway. ·         FastLink 407 – Kissimmee/OIA/Medical City (Orange County/Osceola County) – During the morning peak, trips to Lake Nona will first serve the VA Medical Center. Morning peak inbound trips to Kissimmee will serve Nemours Children’s Hospital and the USTA National Campus. Midday and afternoon peak service will remain unchanged, except for minor schedule adjustments. ·         NeighborLink 613 – Pine Hills (Orange County) – NeighborLink zone will be extended north to include the Park Promenade Plaza.  BUS STOP ADJUSTMENTS ·         Link 61 - LYMMO Lime Line (City of Orlando) – Adding new bus stop on

We hope Osceola residents will vote to improve Lynx

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Great news! Osceola County is taking steps to create a dedicated source for funding that can help both the Lynx bus and SunRail. The rest of Central Florida should follow Osceola’s lead. On May 21st Osceola County voters will have the opportunity to approve a one-cent sales tax for transportation. If voters support the referendum, money raised by that tax can be used for a variety of transportation improvements from road widening to helping Lynx and SunRail. Kissimmee Intermodal Station That’s outstanding. Please vote "for" this referendum. Lynx is catastrophically underfunded. Right now, the Florida Department of Transportation is helping to fund SunRail. In 2 years that becomes the responsibility of local governments. Public transit – Lynx and SunRail – don’t raise enough from the fare box to fully pay operating costs. If government didn’t subsidize public transit, people would have to pay up to $14 for a one-way ride on some Lynx routes. No public t

Lynx riders were the big losers when the bus CEO resigned

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Lynx bus CEO Edward Johnson is gone, but not forgotten. Though Johnson had some shortcomings, we believe that he tried his best to improve public transit for thousands of Central Floridians. Ultimately, Johnson’s departure will hurt riders the most. It could take six months or more before a permanent replacement is selected, and then that person faces a learning curve to understand the system and all the political players. Much has been said about the $21 million deficit at Lynx, we think it’s important to note the technology innovations the bus system added under Johnson’s leadership to improve the rider experience. Those include: ·         Mobile-fare collection (paying with your smartphone) ·         Real-time bus tracking app ·         Free wi-fi on all the buses As for the $21 million deficit – that’s what happens when you try to provide transit service to a sprawling metro area when your agency is catastrophically underfunded and doesn’t have en

Please fix the Kissimmee Connector bus

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The Kissimmee Connector bus at the Kissimmee SunRail station needs some tweaks to succeed. The Connector, launched in January, was designed to make it easier for people at the Kissimmee Intermodal Station – serving SunRail, Lynx, Greyhound, and Amtrak -- to reach the Osceola Courthouse and other destinations, such as the local hospitals. The problem is that the Connector runs on a 30-minute schedule. It is not uncommon to see the Connector sitting empty at the intermodal station while the driver is waiting to leave on the schedule. People who want to use the Connector waste time sitting and waiting for the driver to start. Instead of waiting, some people opt to walk, which defeats the purpose of launching this service. This is one of the reasons why the Connector sometimes runs empty, or with only one or two passengers. The Connector would get more use if it ran on a non-stop loop, like the Lymmo buses in downtown Orlando. In addition, merchants in Historic

Improve Lynx by supporting Transit Equity Day

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Monday (Feb. 4) is  Transit Equity Day . No, there won’t be any parades and you don’t get the day off from work. Transit Equity Day is a national observance that was created to call attention to the importance of public transit. This date was selected because it was the birthday of  Rosa Parks , who is credited with launching the  Montgomery Bus Boycott  (1955 to 1956) to end racial segregation on public buses. We share the belief of Mrs. Parks, and the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that access to public transit is a civil right. (If you don’t have a car and can’t afford one, then how do you get to work, the doctor, or shopping for groceries?) The goal is of Transit Equity Day is to recognize the importance of public transit to everyone because it: ·          Helps reduce traffic congestion ·          Improves our local economy and create more jobs ·          Protects the environment from toxic emissions, which helps to counter the catastrophic danger

See how Lynx stepped up its game in Kissimmee

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Starting Monday (1/28) public transit in Kissimmee will get a big boost. That’s when Lynx’s Kissimmee Circulator -- also known as Link 709 -- begins service. This mini-bus was launched to make it easier for people to get to popular destinations in Kissimmee’s downtown core. The Kissimmee Circulator begins its route at the Kissimmee Super Stop on Neptune Road. The service, which will run from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, will link the intermodal transit station with the Osceola County Courthouse and administrative center with Kissimmee City Hall, Osceola Regional Medical Center, Florida Hospital Kissimmee. Until now, it’s been a pretty good hike between the intermodal station – which serves passengers from SunRail, Lynx, Amtrak, and Greyhound -- and the county courthouse. The Kissimmee Connector will travel on Dakin Street, Lakeview Drive, Emmett Street, Church Street, Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, Oak Street, Central Avenue, and Main Street. For th

Our elected officials should be blamed for the Lynx deficit

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No one should be surprised by the recent TV news story reporting that Lynx has a $21 million deficit. That’s the inevitable outcome when you have a fast-growing 3-county metropolitan region served by an underfunded, poorly equipped public bus system. Our elected officials – local, state and federal – have ignored Lynx for decades. They’ve never given Lynx the resources it needs and that riders deserve. Now the suits are acting surprised. The best suggestion some people have come up with to address the problem is laying off drivers and cutting routes. Are you FRIGGING KIDDING US! Anyone suggesting cutbacks is both an idiot, and an elitist! Maybe those Lynx critics don’t ride the bus, but tens of thousands do every day. For the record: Lynx provides 83,000 rides daily. Lynx serves Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties with about 300 buses. By comparison, the Orange County school district has 900 buses to serve one county. Lynx needs more drivers, mor

Want a fast ride to a Disney job on Lynx?

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Our bad! A few months ago,  we suggested that SunRail’s Southern Extension into Osceola County would make it easy for people to reach Disney by taking the train to Kissimmee where riders could transfer to Lynx bus route 56. Later we learned the bus ride from the Kissimmee Intermodal Station (used by SunRail and Lynx) to Disney could take an hour or more. In a car, that same ride would take 30 minutes give or take -- depending on the time of day and the traffic. The Link 56 bus uses U.S. Highway 192 and makes stops so you can see why the trip takes so long. It would be much quicker if Lynx ran an express bus straight from the Tupperware SunRail station down Osceola Parkway to Disney. That trip takes 20 minutes or less. Lynx has said it has considered such a route, but that has not been included in the bus service changes that go into effect this month. People need the bus service now, not some time in the future. That’s why we’re asking people to  CLICK HERE