Buses to start rolling from SunRail to Maitland Center

After the CEO of LYNX admitted to Maitland’s mayor that it “forgot” to provide feeder bus service from the city’s SunRail station to its largest area office complex when the rail system launched in May, Maitland Center is set to start receiving back-and-forth bus service in September.

Meetings between LYNX officials, Maitland Mayor Howard Schieferdecker, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and representatives from U.S. Rep. John Mica’s office last month set the wheels in motion to give Maitland Center’s 17,000 employees an easier way to get to work via SunRail.

Before the new feeder bus service starts on Sept. 1, Maitland Center employees’ only bus option to, and from, the Maitland SunRail station included taking a bus in the opposite direction to Winter Park Village where they had to wait to transfer to another bus to take them to Maitland Center. Or, Maitland Community Development Director Dick Wells said, it was suggested Maitland Center riders exit SunRail from the Winter Park station, and take a more direct route to work from there.

Schieferdecker said that LYNX will provide the new feeder bus service starting Sept. 1 through December of this year, when LYNX officials meet to assess all route ridership and adjust bus destinations accordingly. Schieferdecker said the cost of running the new bus route will be split between Orange County and the Florida Department of Transportation.