ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida’s bus system, LYNX, will receive $2.8 million in federal funding to replace buses and update the public transportation system that services three counties.
U.S. Reps. Stephanie Murphy, Val Demings and Darren Soto said in a news release the that the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, or LYNX, will receive a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Recommended Videos
LYNX will use the funding to modernize its fleet including purchasing electric buses for the bus lines that circulate in downtown Orlando. According to a news release, electric buses are less costly to operate and create less noise.
The LYNX system provides public transport to Orange, Seminole and Oseola counties, about 2,500 miles of territory.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings had been advocating for a transportation tax to make it on the November ballot this year but the coronavirus put those plans on hold. The tax would have helped fund improvements to Central Florida’s public transportation, according to the mayor.
“We will take up the transportation after the pandemic,” Demings said in April. At the time, Orange County had 600 reported coronavirus cases, now four months later there have been more than 31,000 cases.