ORLANDO, Fla. – Rashad Bradley has been riding the bus in Pine Hills since 1994. Now, for the first time, he can catch a bus at the brand-new LYNX Transfer Station in Pine Hills.
“Being on the bus for all these years, it’s a good thing that there is one place here,” Bradley said. “Now there is a way to get out to Apopka, and it kind of consolidated all the problems.”
He normally rushes to catch his bus off Hiawassee Road under the sun or during dark nights. but with the new canopy covering, lighting, and security on site, Bradley said it’s much easier.
“With there being security, and what I see so far, a lot of security features in place, it should be pretty safe,” he added.
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The $15 million facility features eight bays, a canopy, safety features, and more.
Passengers said they can transfer between around 10 routes here instead of traveling all the way to the central station downtown.
“Now it’s like a link-up. The buses all could be here,” bus rider Kylund Johnson told News 6.
Matt Friedman with LYNX said staff have been running training sessions over the past month, and they opened Sunday with fewer travelers and buses to prepare for the week.
“Making sure the operators know where they’re going,” Friedman said. “Making sure the supervisors know where they’re going. There’s a lot of people who put in a lot of work behind the scenes—from our service planning folks and project manager to our customer service folks.”
Friedman added that they expect to see thousands of riders throughout Monday.
Several riders said they’re hoping to see more transfer stations pop up around Orange County.
“You got different areas in the city where we need more central stations—one or two,” said Reivon Brown, a bus rider.
Riders also said the station will be a major help for students going back to school and for helping voters get to their precincts during elections.
Jarell Baker | Reporter