LynxedTogether

Lynx is planning to make route and schedule changes throughout its bus system serving Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. Most of the changes appear to be minor, with the exception of some routes serving the Disney resort area. Here are the details: ROUTE CHANGES ·          Link 36 – Lake Richmond (Orange County) – Outbound buses will operate via Central Avenue instead of Washington Street between Hughey Avenue and Division Avenue. ·          Link 104 – West Colonial Drive (Orange County) – Inbound buses will operate via Rosalind Avenue, Amelia Street to LYNX Central Station. Outbound buses will operate via Livingston Street, Magnolia Avenue to Robinson Street. ROUTE AND SCHEDULE CHANGES ·          Link 40 – Americana Boulevard/Universal Orlando (Orange County) – Outbound buses will operate via Central Avenue instead of Washington ...

What follows are questions that  David Thomas Moran , co-chair of CFL4Transit (Central Floridians for Public Transit), sent to the leadership at the Lynx public bus system.  Check out the answers he received . 1.     How can the community-at-large and CFL4Transit best support LYNX and public transit right now and in the coming months? What are the biggest needs? The best way to help is by sharing the information we are pushing. ·         www.golynx.com/coronavirusinfo   ·         www.facebook.com/golynx ·         www.twitter.com/lynxbusorlando Along with this we need people to understand that if you are sick, you do not ride. We are encouraging essential trips only. 2.     How is LYNX coordinating with public health officials to support the safety and well-being of transit riders and transit operators during the...

A confined space like a bus can be a great breeding ground for the coronavirus, so we reached out to Lynx to see what steps they are taking to protect the public and employees. Here’s how they responded to us today (March 3): “We are in the process of finalizing our official plan. Rest assured we are monitoring the potential impacts and will respond accordingly. As of today, we have done: 1.        Creating preliminary agency plan for the coronavirus. In process. 2.        Developing plan on increasing the cleaning of its buses. No issues. 3.        Increased the cleaning of our facilities. 4.        Educated staff on the coronavirus. 5.         Participating in the Orange County Emergency Management daily conference call.” By comparison, the NY Daily News reported the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City...

Dang. It’s a shame more Lynx bus riders didn’t participate in a  recently completed survey  of Orange County transportation needs. Survey participants were asked to select their top 5 transportation priorities.  The survey was conducted by Orange County to see where the public wants to spend money if voters in November approve a proposal to add 1-cent to the sales tax to pay for transportation improvements. The good news is that “building a mass transit system (to include buses trains and other modes of transportation)” was ranked as the No. 1 priority. That same priority list ranked improving Lynx service as No. 8. Improving SunRail service ranked No. 4. Priorities 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 focused on improving streets for vehicles. County staff circulated the survey forms at a variety of meetings for months. The survey was widely publicized and could have been completed online. Nearly 11,000 people completed the survey forms. Only 4 percent ...

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… ...

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...

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. Eastbo...

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 Promena...

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 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 transi...

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...