Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX) will receive $2.84 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation, and will use the federal funding to rehabilitate and replace aging buses, vans, and facilities to ensure Central Florida’s public transportation infrastructure is modern and environmentally sustainable.
On Friday, U.S. Reps. Darren Soto, Val Demings, and Stephanie Murphy, announced that LYNX will receive the competitive federal grant.
Representative Darren Soto said “Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Floridians deserve to be safe at home, at work and everywhere in between. With this grant, we have the opportunity to improve our air quality and transform the perception of public transportation in Orlando. Not only will these electric buses be better for our environment, but they will also lower LYNX’s operating costs, ensuring the city has a free and sustainable option for Central Floridians to get around. I look forward to seeing our community adapt to this new normal and continue to make bus travel clean, safe and environmentally sustainable.”
LYNX is planning to use the grant funding to purchase electric buses to operate on its LYMMO Orange and Lime lines which circulate downtown Orlando and provide direct service to the Amway Center, Orange County Courthouse, Lake Eola Park, LYNX Central Station, UCF Downtown, and Valencia College Downtown free of charge.
LYNX serves Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties and services approximately 2,500 square miles. The fleet includes more than 310 air-conditioned coaches and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, provided 79,000 rides each weekday and over 25 million passenger trips in 2019.
