Our Observation

Driving by a bus stop, you can’t help but feel sorry for the sun-cloaked passengers waiting for a ride, or the rain-soaked people hiking to the exposed benches on the side of the road.

Ridership of Lynx, the public bus system, is anticipated to increase by 10 percent this year — that’s more than 27.5 million passenger trips expected by the close of 2011. But only a small percentage of the population relies on public transportation to get around. There are flaws in the system — at many stops, the bus only runs once an hour or even every 90 minutes, making it difficult to rely on for regular use, and many bus stops do not come equipped with shelter, which could mean getting soaked by rain or scorched by the sun. But is this really why we don’t consider the bus?

Our vehicles provide us with a certain security that we will never be left in the rain or without air conditioning. To many, it’s important to have the freedom to leave in the morning when we please and duck out of the office when the day is over, knowing that we’re heading straight home.

It’s this mentality that keeps the majority of the population off the bus and on traffic-clogged roads such as Interstate 4 or State Road 50.

On Friday, July 1, Gov. Rick Scott is expected to make a decision on whether or not to move forward with SunRail, which would run along I-4 from DeBary to Sand Lake Road. The second phase of the $1.3 billion-project would extend south from Sand Lake Road to Poinciana and north from DeBary to Deland. Many state and local leaders promote it as an economic engine, providing construction jobs in the short term and operating positions in the long term. But more than that, many local leaders say commuter rail will bring the Orlando metro area into the future by providing a sustainable means of transportation.

But are we ready for that? Here in Orlando, we don’t have the best track record of utilizing public transportation.

Lynx has no dedicated funding source, which means that every year it must lobby local and state governments for money to operate the system. This alone shows how highly we prioritize public transportation. It could be argued that instead of buying a new system, state money would be better spent improving the systems already in place — more frequent stops, improved bus stop conditions and marketing Lynx as a viable alternative to private vehicles.

Most of the country’s largest cities have high-tech transportation systems like SunRail. From Washington, D.C., to Portland, light rail, metros and subways are moving people. Even Morgantown, a college town in West Virginia, boasts a metro system to move students and the public from one side of campus to the other. But they also have bus systems that are widely utilized. That foundation was in place.

Perhaps it’s getting SunRail that will wake the public up. Lynx supports SunRail, arguing that it will work in tandem with the bus system to relieve traffic congestion on Central Florida roadways. It’s currently planning to expand Lymmo, a free circular bus system that runs through downtown Orlando, to connect with SunRail. Commuter rail could be the missing link to our current system, the cure to our adamant resistance to abandoning our vehicles and getting on board with public transportation.

Like a parent buying a child a toy when they already have a full toy chest, we need to take a closer look at our habits before getting a shiny new transportation system.