LynxedTogether

The Lynx bus folks could teach the SunRail commuter train executives a few lessons. Lesson No. 1 is – you gotta be there! On this past Monday – the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday – SunRail let down the people who count on the train for daily transportation. MLK Day bus service at SunRail As SunRail has done for the past 5 MLK holidays – there was no train service on Monday. It is one of seven holidays when SunRail does not run. But guess what? Lynx was on the road – on a holiday schedule – but the buses were running. We watched Monday morning while two Lynx buses pull into the Meadow Woods SunRail station. Even though the parking lot was empty, there was a handful of people waiting for the buses. Lynx has many shortcomings that demand attention, but at least the Lynx bus is there and operating 365 days of the year. We’ve heard from people who use a combination of the Lynx bus and SunRail to get to and from work. When there is no S...

Usually, we write about residents who depend on the Lynx bus for transportation in Central Florida. But this time we’re focusing on the plight of Lynx bus drivers. Recently we noticed a Lynx bus sporting a sign announcing that Lynx wants to hire new drivers. The starting pay: $14 an hour. Seriously? Maybe Lynx management (a public agency) isn’t aware of it, but there is a national campaign seeking a minimum wage of $15 an hour for all workers. Lynx’s ridiculous compensation offer may be one of the reasons the agency is so desperate to recruit that it resorted to ads on the side of its buses. Honestly, $15 an hour isn’t a livable wage. Try paying your rent, utilities, bills and feeding your family on that. No wonder so many people are living in tents and their cars. We’ve heard some Lynx drivers can’t afford a car. Just like many of their passengers – who can’t afford a car – some drivers ride the Lynx bus to work. Let that sink in for a moment… ...