Lake County officials and city leaders from throughout South Lake, got together Tuesday to celebrate the first week of a new LakeXpress commuter bus service after years of planning.
In the route’s first seven days, close to 250 people have ridden the bus.
“As Lake County has changed form a rural, to a suburban, to an urban setting, there is more and more demand for these types of services (busing), especially here in south Lake, which is the fastest growing part of the county,” Lake County Commissioner Tim Sullivan said. “We’re excited to launch Route 50. We estimate, and conservatively, that we’ll have 36,000 riders in the first year.”
According to an American Public Transportation Association Transit Saving Report, a two-person household can save, on the average, more than $10,000 a year by downsizing to one car and utilizing public transit instead, Sullivan said. He added that using public transportation in the United State saves 4.2 billion gallons of gas annually and that public transit has a strong economic impact.
“Every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns,” Sullivan said.
Route 50 provides service between Mascotte and the Winter Garden Regional Shopping Center in Orange County. In Lake County, the bus makes fixed stops primarily along State Road 50, including Mascotte City Hall, South Lake Hospital and the South Lake Campus of Lake-Sumter State College. It also heads east to Winter Garden, where passengers may transfer to LYNX Link 105 to Orlando.
According to county officials, Route 50 is a standalone service of LakeXpress, which also operates Routes 1-4 in the north end of the county. Fares for LakeXpress are $1 for all trips. Half-fares are available for riders 60 years or older and individuals with disabilities, while free rides are available for students and children under 5 with a fare-paying chaperone.
In south Lake, Route 50 runs Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., except for federal holidays.
“What a great opportunity for people to get where they need to go without depending on someone else,” said Courtney Reynolds, the project manager for the Florida Department of Transportation’s ReThink program, which had a hand in the new route. “Now, they can depend Lake Xpress.”
Groveland Mayor Tim Loucks said the service will help those needing transportation to get to and from work in Clermont or Orlando from Mascotte and Groveland.
“This is going to open an entire job market for people of Groveland and Mascotte who’ve never had that,” Loucks said.
Bertie Newburn, a senior who lives in Clermont and has no car, said she plans on using the bus service to visit the senior center in Groveland and possibly go into Orlando.
“I think it will be nice, because though I’ve always wanted to go to the senior center and other places like that, I have no way of getting there anymore,” she said.