Finding a way for FlexBus

It’s been a bumpy road for FlexBus since March when LYNX announced it wouldn’t be aiding in the implementation of intelligent transport service set to launch later this year in Altamonte Springs, Maitland, Casselberry and Longwood.

But with favorable votes from three of the four cities so far to seek privatization of the on-demand bus system designed around SunRail, city officials are hoping for smoother sailing ahead.

To learn about the idea behind FlexBus, visit rideflexbus.com

“It’s an opportunity to be on the ground floor of a new innovative mass transit opportunity that, if its successful, which we hope it will be, it could be adopted nationwide,” said Casselberry Mayor Charlene Glancy.

The system, which has been in the works for more than a decade, sets out to serve non-traditional bus riders looking for an alternative way to get to and from SunRail stations by serving them on-demand and within 12-minutes of a service call. The cities planned on LYNX offering to implement the system’s demonstration phase, which is set to launch in November of this year, but when LYNX announced it was opting out in March, Altamonte Springs officials decided they would launch the system privately themselves.

Maitland and Casselberry have both agreed to join Altamonte Springs in securing a public-private partnership with a private transit vendor to operate the system, leaving Longwood to vote on Monday.

“I think it’s better that we do it ourselves and take control of our own destiny,” said Louis Rotundo, state lobbyist for Maitland and Altamonte Springs, at Maitland’s May 13 City Council meeting. If the proposed system fails, he said, the cities then have the option to fall back to LYNX and its NeighborLYNX system that they plan to retrofit with the intelligent transit technology developed for FlexBus. “At the end of the game, I think it’s a cleaner process for the demonstration phase,” he said.

Funding for the yearlong demonstration of the system is planned through a 50 percent grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, with the remaining cost split between the cities. Funding after the first year is to be determined.

Glancy said Casselberry is ready to move forward with the partner cities to see the system through.

“It’s an incredibly important piece for mass transit and to be prepared for the launch of SunRail,” Glancy said. “We believe in SunRail and want to see it be successful.”