This is the best and worst of times for local public transit

This is the best of times and the worst of times for public transit in Central Florida.

First the bad news. Earlier this week (5/21) a referendum to add a penny to the sales tax in Osceola County was resoundingly defeated by voters. In addition to road projects, a portion of that money was also supposed to be used to improve SunRail and Lynx bus service.

No one loves the idea of increased taxes. Granted sales tax increases cause a special burden on people struggling to make ends meet. Improved public transit – weekend SunRail and improved bus service – also expands opportunities for those same workers.

We also know that Osceolans love and make great use of public transit. You can see that every day for yourself every weekday mornings on northbound crowded trains headed out of Osceola, and at the downtown Kissimmee intermodal station (shown in the accompanying photo) where workers board buses. It was not too long ago that there was no Lynx bus service in Osceola County.

The voters have spoken and now the burden falls on Osceola elected officials to identify other sources of money needed to keep growing public transit for residents.

The good news, however, outweighs the bad.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings last week announced plans to pursue the one-cent sales tax increase in Orange County to improve public transit. That is an important move because the reason public transit is so weak is because there is no dedicated source of funding for it. Hopefully, Mayor Demings and his supporters will take the time to understand why the initiative failed in Osceola.

As a reminder, no public transit system in the world can pay for operations solely from the fare box. Typically, a transit system can pay about 30 percent of the costs from fares. Beyond that, they need government support.

Remember, public transit is a service. The police and fire are also very expensive services paid for by the government. Unlike police and fire, transit raises some of the money needed to pay for its operating costs. Keep in mind that all transportation – from the street outside your house to the airlines – receive government subsidies.

The most exciting news came this week when Virgin Trains (formerly Brightline) announced that it started construction on tracks between West Palm Beach and Orlando International Airport. This has been discussed for years and now it’s happening. We can’t wait.

The best is yet to come.

See you on The Rail!

How to take SunRail to Disney

At least 3 or 4 times every month someone asks us if it’s possible to take SunRail to Disney.

Until now the answer has been NO.

However, at the end of July when SunRail starts serving Osceola County, the answer will become – sort of.

Then riders will be able to take SunRail to the Kissimmee Intermodal Station where they can transfer to the Lynx bus to ride Link 56 to the transportation and ticket center at the Magic Kingdom. Don’t forget you get a free transfer from the SunRail train to the Lynx bus.

Granted this trip isn’t as seamless as getting off the Monorail at the Magic Kingdom but it is a noteworthy improvement.

A Lynx manager told us it’s not out of the question that one day Lynx might consider a bus that would run from the Tupperware SunRail station down Osceola Parkway – a straight shot into Mouse World.

Link 56 to the Magic Kingdom

The Kissimmee station connection news is good for Mickey Mouse fans, and for thousands of Disney employees who fight traffic every day on I-4 and other thoroughfares on their way to work. (No, the employees don’t live under Cinderella’s Castle!)

The downside for Disney fans and workers is that SunRail does not run on weekends, bank holidays and late at night. You can help change that by clicking here to sign a petition to extend SunRail service to Orlando International Airport. Once SunRail connects to the airport, the train will have to offer weekend service and trains later into the night.

See you on The Rail!

FDOT is working on bus service to Poinciana SunRail

Here’s the latest from the Florida Department of Transportation regarding bus service to support the future Poinciana SunRail station.

FDOT works with Lynx to provide bus service to SunRail stations. FDOT is subsidizing SunRail through 2021.

SunRail train service to Poinciana is expected to begin this summer.

Here is what FDOT said:

“Our goal is to look at the service area from a systems standpoint. With this in mind, it is important to note that the existing LYNX Link 26 serves the Poinciana area. When we evaluated the travel time for the existing Link 26 from the Poinciana Walmart to the Kissimmee Station and compared it to the County’s proposed route from the Poinciana Walmart to the Poinciana Station, we noted that there was a slight benefit in travel time with the existing Link 26.

In addition, when LYNX modeled Osceola County’s proposed route, the projected ridership was low and the cost for the service was high. This resulted in a projected cost per passenger trip of $23.98 compared to a LYNX system average of $4.15. We are proposing to modify the Link 26 to include additional service hours in the morning peak to match the SunRail schedule.

There is an existing route (Link 306 Disney Direct) that provides service between the Poinciana Wal Mart and the Disney Springs Transfer Center. 

Currently only one morning trip operates to Disney Springs and one late afternoon trip operates to Poinciana. This route is proposed to deviate from Poinciana Boulevard to serve the Poinciana SunRail Station.

With regard to US 192, there are several existing routes that serve the Kissimmee SunRail Station including Routes 55 and 56 to the west which run 30-minute headways all day and have significant overlap (almost like having 15-minute headways along those segments).  

Route 18 serves US 192 to the east for a short segment from US 441 to Denn John Lane with 60-minute headways, and Route 10 serves US 192 from the Kissimmee SunRail Station to St Cloud with 30-minute headways.

Finally, NeighborLink is a dial-a-ride flex-service that is designed to make it easier for individuals living in less populated areas to use public transportation. 

The Neighborlink 604 provides service to Intercession City and Campbell City.

The existing base location is proposed to be moved to the Poinciana SunRail Station, and service hours would be expanded to match the SunRail train schedule, with service beginning approximately 45 minutes earlier and operating approximately 2 hours later in the evening. This service provides smaller buses that can access neighborhoods and is more cost efficient. As the ridership in that area grows, we will work with LYNX to evaluate the need for a different type of service.

As reported, Commissioner Janer requested that FDOT and LYNX review the analysis for the proposed route. This effort is underway, and we will report the results when available.”

Make Poinciana SunRail a winner

Will the Poinciana SunRail station be a winner or a loser?

Making it easy for people to get to the train station is key, and Lynx plays a big role in that equation.

Poinciana SunRail station

The experience of the last four years has shown that the end of the line stations – DeBary and Sand Lake Road – have been two of the busiest in the SunRail system. DeBary – the only SunRail station in Volusia County gets passengers from the Votran bus system. The Sand Lake Station in south Orlando is supported by 6 Lynx bus routes.

At this writing, the bus situation is not nearly so bright for the nearly completed Poinciana station. That station at the intersection of Old Tampa Highway and Poinciana Blvd. is in Osceola County, relatively close to Polk County.

In case you’ve never been there, the Poinciana station that will become the southern end of the line for SunRail is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. (OK there is a Home Depot, a soft-drink bottling plant, a Wawa and an ice-cream-stand nearby.)

What concerns us is that currently the Poinciana station will be served only by Neighborhood Link 604. That bus circulates mainly in the Intercession City and Campbell City area near the station. As it is a Neighborhood Link you must call 2 hours in advance to arrange for pick up.

Under a contract with Polk County, Lynx will provide the only bus (Link 416) for Polk County residents to reach SunRail. That bus (Link 416) will carry people from Haines City to the Lynx Super Stop at the Poinciana Walmart. At the Super Stop, riders would transfer to Link 26 to take them to the intermodal station in downtown Kissimmee where people can catch SunRail, Lynx, Greyhound, and Amtrak.

The problem is that neither SunRail or Lynx offers service that is convenient to use.

Blame the local, state and federal elected officials because there is no dedicated source of funding to subsidize our local public transit – Lynx and SunRail.

All public transit throughout the world relies on government subsidies. Passenger fares only pay about 30 percent of the operating costs. Roads, highways and even airlines rely on government subsidies.

Until politicians find the courage to provide adequate funding a reliable people who rely on public transit will continue to receive janky service.

There is some good news. Currently, Osceola County, Lynx and the state Department of Transportation are discussing the possibility of offering additional Lynx bus service to connect more people to the Poinciana SunRail station.

Hope to see you on The Rail this summer at the Poinciana SunRail station.

For a free subscription to get the latest report from SunRailRiders click here.
 

SunRail needs YOUR political support

Recently we heard howls of unhappiness when residents learned that SunRail will not be running during the popular Winter Park Art Festival.

We share your frustration. SunRail service leaves much to be desired.

The problem, however, is bigger than the Winter Park Art Festival; weekend train service, or even SunRail.

SunRail during 2017 art festival

Don’t blame the people who operate the trains.

Blame the politicians who haven’t allocated the money necessary to provide the public transit service we need.

SunRail, like the Lynx bus system, is tragically underfunded. There is no dedicated funding source – such as a tax or a fee -- to support SunRail or Lynx. Every year Lynx begs Orlando and local counties for the money needed to keep the buses rolling.

The state is providing the money to keep SunRail running until 2021. Then SunRail becomes OUR (Orlando, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties) financial responsibility.

That bill will be more than $30 million annually. Where will that money come from? No one knows.

Anyone who tells you that SunRail and Lynx should be self sufficient -- without a taxpayer subsidy -- doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

There is no public transit system anywhere in the world that supports itself solely from the fare box. All transit systems, including airlines and the paved street outside your house, are subsidized by taxpayers.

Just because you have a car doesn’t mean you’re immune from the money crisis facing SunRail and Lynx.

There’s a good chance that the people who scrub the toilet at your job, or stack the shelves at your local supermarket, may not be able to afford cars because they aren’t paid a living wage. They rely on public transit – some riding two hours or more to and from work.

For those – like us – fortunate enough to own a car you probably noticed that traffic throughout Central Florida gets worse every day. Public transit offers people a cost-effective and stress-free alternative to driving.

The ongoing I-4 Ultimate Project, is not a solution to the road congestion. Additional lanes being added to I-4 will quickly reach capacity and compound Central Florida’s hopeless traffic jams.

Our awful traffic is very expensive.

A recent study showed that an average Orlando-area motorist wastes 32 hours a year stuck in congestion at a cost of $1,100 per driver. Our janky public transit system contributed to the Orlando-area’s low ranking in the competition to land Amazon’s second headquarters.

But there’s more. A recent investigative report in the Huffington Post showed how the poisonous exhaust fumes from the vehicles using Interstate 4 and the 408 are suffocating people living in downtown Orlando’s Parramore community. Today, it’s Parramore. Tomorrow it will be your neighborhood.

You may think greenhouses gases and global warming are a joke. We don’t.

Our community needs and deserves effective and convenient public transportation – both SunRail and Lynx.

If you’re pissed that you can’t ride SunRail to the Winter Park Art Festival, or on any weekend or late at night, then tell your city, county, state and federal elected officials that you demand more service.

Pols are paying attention. This is an election year.

Time is running out for SunRail.

See you on The Rail, but not at the art festival.

For a free subscription to get the latest report from SunRailRiders click here.
 

Bus blogger needed

SunRailRiders is seeking a blogger to write about LYNX and crusade to improve the public bus system that serves Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.

For the past 2 years www.SunRailRiders.com has been raising hell to fix our commuter-train service. We want to give LYNX the same scrutiny because its riders deserve better service than they’re getting.

Frankly, SunRail’s success depends on LYNX success. We need a strong, unified, reliable and easy-to-use public-transit system – bus and train – to improve Central Florida’s livability.

Too many of our neighbors spend 4 hours or more every day riding the bus or waiting for a bus in the rain and sun. That’s because LYNX doesn’t have enough buses. This situation is wrong and needs to be fixed NOW.

Ideally the bus blogger has been riding LYNX for years. The writer needs to be someone who keeps up with local current events (as in reads local newspapers); knows the ins and outs of the local bus system, and understands the politics of public transportation. It doesn't matter if the bus blogger doesn't use SunRail.

This is a chance for a creative person who is passionate about facts and public transportation to get published and make a difference.

The bus blog will initially be incorporated into the SunRailRiders website. However, it will have its own distinct Facebook and Twitter channels. We would also back up the blogger with video and photos.

So how about it?

Don’t apply if you hope to get rich, but we can probably work out a little something, something. Send an email to sunrailriders@gmail.com.

Hey everybody, let's ride SunRail on Black Friday

Riders always ask us what they can do to convince SunRail to run trains on the weekends and later at night.

For one thing, please sign the petition calling for expanded SunRail service. (Add your name to the petition by clicking here.)

The other thing we can do is: Ride SunRail as much as possible. Ridership numbers make a big impact. Politicians and bureaucrats pay attention to numbers – big numbers.

We know there are many people who want to ride SunRail but it’s not convenient for them during the week because the train doesn’t go near their home or job. However, those people usually have a long list of places they would catch SunRail to visit on the weekends.

Well, their prayers are answered. Next week there’s a weekday when SunRail will be running and that’s almost like a weekend because many people will have the day off. SunRail won’t be running on Thanksgiving (Nov. 27), but it will run the next day – Black Friday (Nov. 28).

Many people are off from work and plan to go shopping on Black Friday. That’s great, so let’s go shopping and avoid the overflowing mall parking lots by riding SunRail.

You can catch SunRail and transfer to a Lynx bus to reach Florida Mall, Altamonte Mall, Mall at Millennia and Seminole Towne Centre mall.

Oh yes we did! We actually suggested riding the Lynx bus. You might enjoy it. Recently we rode Lynx from the downtown Lynx Central Station to the Sand Lake Road SunRail station in south Orange County. It was easy. The Lynx buses are new; the driver was courteous and helpful; the ride was very quick, and the fare was only $2 (exact fare, please.)

Don’t roll your eyes at the thought of riding the Lynx bus. Easing traffic congestion, saving energy and reducing air pollution in Central Florida requires all of us to support a unified mass transit system that fully utilizes SunRail AND Lynx.

Besides the mega malls, SunRail is an excellent way to reach shopping areas in Central Florida’s smaller cities. Everybody knows that SunRail lets passengers off on Park Avenue in Winter Park. But did you know Lake Mary has a wonderful shopping area that’s just a five-minute stroll from the Lake Mary SunRail station?

In Sanford, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., the city provides a free shuttle van to take riders from the SunRail station to downtown Sanford where there are great places to shop and eat.

The timing of this SunRail rider campaign is especially important for businesses in Central Florida’s smaller cities because Saturday, Nov. 29^th is Small Business Saturday – a national observance when people are encouraged to spend money will small, locally owned businesses. However, as we all know, SunRail doesn’t run on Saturdays and Sundays. So let’s ride SunRail on Black Friday and give our small-business friends some love.

OK, so maybe you don’t want to take SunRail to go Black Friday shopping. Well then ride SunRail just to do it. Get off at Loch Haven Park or downtown Orlando to visit some cultural venues. Or take your bike on the train and ride up to DeBary to explore some of the bicycle trails.

Are you in? Pass the word and ask your friends, neighbors and coworkers to ride SunRail on Black Friday.

Instead of complaining about SunRail not running on weekends and nights, let’s show everyone how much we appreciate SunRail. Let’s pack those trains like we did right after the train service started back in May and June.

Mark Nov. 28^th on your calendar. See you on the rail!

What grade does SunRail deserve?

How would you grade Central Florida’s SunRail commuter train system?

It’s hard to believe that SunRail will soon be 6 months old. It began service on May 1.

So how would you grade SunRail?

We think overall SunRail deserves high praise for the launch of commuter train service in our community, but there’s lots of room for improvement.

Now let’s get to specifics:

Facilities

The stations are generally well designed. We particularly like aesthetic touches at stations, such as the metal sculpture wading birds at Sand Lake Road and the orange-crate art at DeBary.

Spaces are free and plentiful at most of the stations where parking is provided. However, the automatic ticket vending machines are slow and sometimes unreliable. There continue to be problems with a few crossing gates. But the worst problem is the poorly designed platform canopies that provide scant protection from the sun and rain. Whoever designed those canopies deserves a kick in the pants.

Grade: B minus

Trains

The SunRail trains are great. They’re comfortable and well designed. The train crews, especially the conductors, are fabulous.

Grade: A

Fare

The fare is an outstanding bargain. Try driving round trip from South Orange County to DeBary in Volusia County for $7.50. Can’t be done.

However, many riders are rightly pissed off with the labeling of tickets in the vending machines. One ticket selection is for a 7-day ticket, even though SunRail only runs Monday through Friday. Many riders feel they’re getting ripped off because you only get 5 days of rides on a 7-day ticket, and you must use the ticket on 5 consecutive days.  This untruthful labeling highlights just reminds people that SunRail doesn’t run on weekends. Labeling is equally deceptive for 30-day tickets.

Grade: C

Reliability

 SunRail has an excellent on-time record. But when things go wrong, it’s time for Katie to bar the door. Most of SunRail problems are caused by people and vehicles trespassing on the tracks, despite a robust public-education program.

SunRail’s responses to these problems have been uneven. SunRail needs to be much better prepared for the unexpected because things are bound to go wrong. Riders depend on SunRail to get them to their destinations, regardless problems.

The biggest service deficiency is that SunRail does not provide service on the weekends or during late-night hours. SunRail remains stubbornly reluctant to expand service despite a petition signed by more than 2,000 people. Weekend service would mean a tremendous boost to businesses and cultural venues throughout Central Florida.

Grade: C minus

Customer service

We live in the hospitality capital of the world, yet SunRail doesn’t seem to have much aptitude for customer service. They're not rude, they're neglectful.

Getting rid of the SunRail Ambassadors who worked on the station platforms was a terrible idea. Even though they were hired as temps, they proved to be invaluable in answering questions, helping with balky ticket vending machines and reinforcing operating and safety rules. Riders really appreciated the assistance provided by the Ambassadors.

SunRail does a poor job of communicating with riders waiting on platforms when there are service interruptions. We’re happy SunRail is now working on a text messaging system to contact riders, but why wasn’t that done before SunRail started operations?

Based on what we’ve seen SunRail needs lessons in disaster planning and customer recovery. To improve they should reach out to the airlines and Disney -- businesses that have extensive experience and knowledge in those subjects.

Grade: D

SunRail’s overall grade: B minus

Lynx and Votran also deserve a B grade for providing the essential public bus service that connects many neighborhoods to SunRail stations.

So what’s your grade for SunRail?

SunRail needs a better boss

Central Florida’s Lynx public bus system should be running SunRail.

That notion may seem off the wall, but it makes sense because Lynx is in the mass transit business, and the Florida Department of Transportation – which built and oversees SunRail – is in the road-building business. Those are two completely different disciplines.

FDOT is top notch when it comes to building roads. They’re engineers. They care about things, but they’re not exactly warm and fuzzy when it comes to caring about living and breathing people.

A couple of weeks ago there was a tragic situation at SunRail when a dead body was found early in the morning on the tracks near the Sanford station. The public address systems at SunRail stations announced that SunRail service was canceled for the morning. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” the announcer added.

We were flabbergasted. SunRail announced service was canceled as though it was no big deal.

Lynx would have never done that, regardless of the tragic circumstances. They know people are counting on them to get to work. To their credit, SunRail did resume service that morning. But why did SunRail think canceling service was an option?

Customer service at SunRail is a joke. When SunRail launched they had station Ambassadors to answer questions from riders. But they got rid of the Ambassadors so there’s no one to talk to face to face when you have a question.

At Lynx Central Station in downtown Orlando there is a Lynx representative who answers questions and sells bus passes. Oh, and did we mention that customer service booth is in the bus system’s air-conditioned passenger lobby. That’s right, air-conditioned – something to think about next time you’re standing under the skimpy canopy on a SunRail platform in the blazing sun, or in driving rain.

In addition, Lynx has a platoon of supervisors in marked cars who patrol the bus routes checking on drivers and answering rider questions. When SunRail failed a few weeks ago and announced service was canceled for the morning, it was the Lynx supervisors who led a convoy of buses to rescue stranded SunRail riders.

Lynx runs 7 days a week, albeit abbreviated service on the weekends. SunRail provides 4,200 rides daily. Lynx provides 105,000 rides daily. And as we all know, SunRail doesn't run on weekends, or much during the middle of the day.

SunRail is new and sexy. Lynx is not.

The overwhelming majority of people on Lynx ride because they don’t have a choice. They can’t afford a car, or for one reason or another, they can’t drive. It takes a long time to get from Point A to Point B on Lynx because of traffic congestion and the Lynx bus fleet is too small. Lynx has 299 buses to serve Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. Lynx really needs about 700 buses to provide more convenient service. The problem is that Lynx doesn’t get enough funding, but that’s a story for another day.

Central Florida won’t get the mass transit it deserves until bus and rail service is being managed under one roof. Clearly Lynx knows more and cares more about mass transit than our friends at FDOT.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

SunRail has one major responsibility: Provide safe, reliable mass transportation.

SunRail is top notch when it comes to safety.

SunRail also deserve very high marks for reliability. But sometimes things go wrong that are beyond its control, such as people and vehicles on the tracks -- where they’re not supposed to be.

Granted SunRail is only 4 months old, but the railroading is nearly 200 years old, so service interruptions aren’t new. That’s why SunRail’s response to a service interruption on Friday morning was so disappointing. Inadequate communications was the major problem.

Passengers arriving at SunRail stations at 6 a.m. were greeted with a number of confusing messages on the public address system. Initially riders were told all train service had been canceled for the morning. That proved to be incorrect. To SunRail’s credit, service resumed around 7 a.m.

Some will say SunRail was being cautious when it said train service was canceled for the morning. How many passengers heard that announcement, threw up their hands and went home, or called in sick.

It would have been better if SunRail was more forthcoming and said, “Service has been interrupted, but we’re working to restore it as quickly as possible.”

SunRail kept playing recorded messages so it was impossible to know if conditions had changed. During an emergency, people want real-time updates, so it would be better to have live announcements, and to let riders know the announcement is live. Begin it like this: “Good morning passengers, the time is 7:10 a.m. and we now have a southbound train approaching the Maitland station.”

You can’t communicate too much during an emergency.

SunRail also needs to do a better job keeping its transportation partners in the loop. Lynx drivers bringing passengers to the Sand Lake Road station had no idea SunRail service had been interrupted. There are 2-way radios on the buses. Let the bus drivers know so they can alert their passengers.

SunRail is an important part of the Central Florida community. We count on SunRail to take care of us.

Friday's SunFail

SunRail we still love you guys.

But Friday morning you dropped the ball --- big time.

Certainly it's tragic that someone was killed by a SunRail train late Thursday, but that's a sad reality that comes with running a railroad, and SunRail needs to be prepared to deal with it. If SunRail has a service-interruption plan, it didn't work Friday morning.

Alerted to the SunRail service interruption by one of our Twitter followers in Sanford we rushed to the Sand Lake Road station shortly after 6 a.m. Friday. Information at the station was limited and confusing.

People getting off Lynx buses at the station started walking toward the train platform while bystanders were yelling out that all trains had been canceled. Lynx bus drivers didn’t know that the trains weren’t running until they heard the announcements at the station.

Periodically recordings played on the station’s PA system telling riders that all SunRail service had been canceled this morning “sorry for the inconvenience.” There were no SunRail representatives at the station to assist riders because, you may remember, SunRail laid off the station Ambassadors a couple of weeks back. Many passengers and SunRail conductors said getting rid of the Ambassadors was a big mistake. Friday morning they were proven right.

Lynx, the regional public bus system, was the hero of the day. Shortly before 7 a.m. a Lynx supervisor arrived at the Sand Lake station and brought a convoy of buses with him to start shuttling stranded SunRail riders to their destinations.

But of course there was still no SunRail rep on scene. Then there were confusing recorded announcements saying there would be no SunRail train other than train P308. Who knows what that means? 

Then the announcer said there was a southbound train coming from Lake Mary – but no estimated time of arrival.

The good news is the first SunRail train arrived in Sand Lake at about 7:30.

Now some will say: What could SunRail have done?

1.    Provide real-time updates on what was going on. That means SunRail should have had representatives at the stations to help riders. That responsibility belongs to SunRail, not Lynx. Please bring back the Ambassadors!

2.    Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket. SunRail keeps all of its trains overnight in Sanford. That sets the stage for a disaster because if there’s a service interruption in or near Sanford, then the entire system comes to a halt. Why not store at least two trains on the southern end of the system in the Taft railroad yard south of the Sand Lake Road station? Those trains could have been running this morning to serve riders south of Sanford.

SunRail is not the Hogwarts Express theme park attraction ride. People depend on SunRail to get to work. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” just doesn’t cut it.

---- happens, everybody knows that. But we’re counting on SunRail bosses to be ready for it. Theme parks, hospitals, airlines and schools have plans to address emergency situations. Come on SunRail, we need you guys to step up your game.

Video shows Lynx riding to the rescue!

SunRailRiders - Kissimmee SunRail passengers have a sweet deal

Kissimmee SunRail riders have a really sweet deal.

Even though SunRail doesn’t run to Kissimee yet, Kissimmee residents are already taking advantage of SunRail. They’re riding an express bus from downtown Kissimmee to the Sand Lake Road SunRail station in south Orange County.

Actually, it’s a little more than your average express bus, Lynx 208 is a luxury motor coach and we checked it out recently.

We picked it up at the Kissimmee Intermodal Station – that’s just fancy talk for a mini terminal where most of the buses serving Osceola County come together. And man, is it busy in the morning. This intermodal station is adjacent to the Kissimmee Amtrak station where SunRail is scheduled to begin service in 2016.

Lynx 208 is actually a big orange Mears motor coach – you know the type with the high-back reclining chairs. It even has free Wi-Fi, a feature they need on regular Lynx buses.

The ride on Lynx 208 costs $3.50 -- a little more than the regular Lynx bus, but you also get a free transfer to SunRail.

Though the motor coach we rode only had a handful of riders, everybody enjoyed it. We chatted with a couple of ladies who said this new Lynx service and SunRail has really changed their lives by relieving them of the stress of driving to Orlando every morning. And they’re saving a fortune. They explained that their employer is paying their SunRail fare (employers get a tax incentive for this) and all they have to pay for is the express bus service.

One woman said she used to spend $75 per week for gasoline. But now it’s only costing her $40 per month for the express bus. Cha-ching!

After leaving the intermodal station the express bus makes one more stop at a park and ride lot on  Shady lane in Kissimmee before hopping on Florida’s Turnpike and zipping over to Sand Lake Road.

The ride took about 30 minutes and there was a SunRail train waiting in the station.

The coordination and cooperation between Lynx and SunRail is great to see. Here’s hoping that more people will get onboard so we can keep it running.