Seminole County to talk Lynx bus alternatives next week

The Seminole County Commission will look at proposals next week that could end its support of Lynx bus routes as it considers alternatives. 

Commissioners will hear a presentation from six vendors on what’s called Micro-Transit Services for Seminole County – private companies offering what would operate similar to an on-demand, Uber-like transit system. This would be a possible replacement for Seminole County’s Lynx routes. The county is also looking at going for $10 million in state grant money for the Micro-Transit program.

Seminole County currently has 11 fixed Lynx routes, two neighborhood link zones and paratransit services. The county is being asked to pay a net of $14 million in 2025 for the services. 

But county commissioners have been raising concerns that the bus service costs too much, and the buses don’t have enough riders. 

“We think we can provide a better service for less money,” Commissioner Amy Lockhart said. “We need to find an alternative. We can’t justify the economics or the environmental impacts (of Lynx).”

According to a presentation done in November, Lynx had about 6,644 people riding buses each week, and an annual ridership of 2.1 million rides. 

“We’re gonna continue to provide services until we’re told otherwise,” said Matthew Friedman, a spokesman for Lynx. “If Seminole County decides to go in a different direction, that is up to them.”

Commissioner Bob Dallari said he doesn’t know where the discussion next week will end up going. The meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22. 

“We need to make sure we’re optimizing whatever system we’re using and spending the public’s money very effectively,” Dallari said. “We need to do this strategically so it’s done logically and people aren’t losing service, so people have a way to commute.” 

But, he added: “Changes need to be made.” 

Seminole County will also look at a possible 2025-26 budget for the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, which operates SunRail. Seminole County’s portion of the funding would be about $11.6 million annually. 

Seminole County Commissioner Amy Lockhart said with a proposal underway to study expanding SunRail to the Orlando International Airport – and possibly expanding it to weekend services, “Every dollar we spend on a bus is a dollar we can’t spend on a train,” Lockhart said.