SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County is planning to slash their budget for Lynx as they cut the number of fixed bus routes and get ready to launch their own micro-transit service this fall.
But as the clock ticks before the anticipated October start, there’s still a number of key questions including: what will it be called? Where exactly will it operate? And how much will it cost riders?
News 6 has been following every step of the way as the county has made decisions to modernize public transportation.
This week, Lynx staff presented commissioners with their anticipated budget of roughly $9 million for the upcoming year for a scaled-back service.
Right now, Seminole County pays about $17 million annually, which includes 11 fixed routes, two “NeighborLink” Zones, and paratransit service. They estimate up to 4,200 people use the LYNX service each year.
“We are still counting in our budget on continuing to pay for Access Lynx, because that’s our paratransit program,” said Commissioner Amy Lockhart. “What we are seeing as a benefit is reducing the cost of the fixed route costs for those large Lynx buses that go to bus stops.”
Commissioner Amy Lockhart said it will be a significant decrease in cost for the community and the county’s overall general fund budget.
As they transition to micro-transit in October, the current Lynx service will continue as is for three months so that people will have an opportunity to get used to the changes before the new year.
Last month, News 6 reported the county now has a $5 million contract with Freebee, which will provide 35 rideshare vehicles in different service zones this fall.
Rather than relying on a bus, the public will be able to request a ride using a smartphone app or by calling a dedicated phone line that will take them curb-to-curb.
Lockhart told News 6 that the fares will likely be decided in August. Right now, the county has hired different consultants to make sure they are choosing the best options.
“If you are someone that is below the poverty line or if you are disabled in some way, shape or form, any federal protection that you have to have access to public transportation, we want to make sure that you continue to have that available to you,” said Lockhart. “So we’ve got the lawyers involved. And then we also are talking with an economist to make sure that we have the right fares in place to match those, those federal laws.”
Lockhart said it is important for the county to take the time to do it right.
“We don’t want to come out of the gate and then have to fix something right away,” said Lockhart.
Information presented to commissioners in April from Freebee shows a proposed base rate of $3.50. Each additional person traveling with the rider would add a charge of $1 per person.
Vehicles would operate within five designated zones, centered around existing transit hubs such as SunRail stations. If a rider wanted to travel between zones, a $2 surcharge would be automatically applied when crossing zone boundaries under 5 miles.
The proposed fare structure also includes discounts for seniors, low-income, disabled riders, and students. They would receive a 50% discount on the base fare, so they would pay a $1.75 base fare instead of $3.50. There would also be a $1 discount for passengers being dropped off or picked up at a SunRail station.
The micro-transit service would operate seven days a week, with an average wait time of 30 minutes or less. On Sunday, the wait time would likely be 60 minutes or less.
Commissioner Lockhart says they also expect to announce a name and logo for the new service soon, as well as advertising opportunities.
More specific details will be shared with the public closer to launch, but Lockhart says she believes this is the right choice for Seminole County.
“We know trying to do the same thing that we’ve been doing is not working, so we knew we needed to make a change,” said Lockhart. “This is working for other communities, and we believe that we have a lot of the same demographics and the geographic density that will help to make this work well for us as well. So we’re in both feet. We’re jumping in. We’re going to hopefully make this change that’s going to be a huge improvement for the entire community.”