Public Transit Reviews & Advocacy

Congratulations to the New England Patriots on their 6th Super Bowl Championship! Their championship parade will be Tuesday, Feb. 5 in Boston. The parade starts at 11am from Hynes Convention Center and travels along Boylston and Tremont Streets to City Hall. The MBTA will be providing rush-hour service all day to accommodate the crowds as well as providing additional cars on some Commuter Rail trains. Getting to the Parade and Service Changes Subway Trains will run every 5-6 minutes between 6am-7pm. Stops DIRECTLY  along the parade route: Hynes Convention Center ( Green Line) Copley ( Green Line) Arlington (Green Line) Boylston ( Green Line) Park Street ( Green and Red Lines) Government Center ( Green and Blue Lines) Stops NEAR the parade route:  Back Bay ( Orange Line & Commuter Rail ) Tufts Medical Center ( Orange Line) Chinatown ( Orange Line) Downtown Crossing ( Orange and Red Lines) State Street ( Orange and Blue Lines) Bowdoin ( Blue

At the beginning of this academic year in August 2018, UNF changed providers for their shuttle service, the Osprey Connector. Previously, the shuttles were operated by Academy Coach and used a fleet of 2002 New Flyer D35LF and 2003 New Flyer D30LFs. But, they either did not opt in for another contract or a deal could not be made and UNF changed providers - they chose Echo Tours & Transportation (dba Echo Transportation). Since Echo Transportation did not operate in Jacksonville prior to taking this contract, they had to purchase new buses for the service. Many of the drivers were given the opportunity to change companies and continue running the Osprey Connector and keep their seniority. Drivers who did not want to leave Academy stayed, and some new drivers were hired too. Below I outline the types of buses used, both before and after the switch from Academy to Echo Transportation, as well as an issue with what buses are assigned to what routes here on campus. The latter part I tr

In the coming weeks, both LYNX and Votran will be having their next round of service changes. The LYNX changes are effective Sunday, January 27 and Votran's are in February (per Votran's usual mantra, they have not announced a date for these changes, more on that in that section of the post). LYNX Let's start with the LYNX changes first. The changes include minor scheduling changes, routing changes, and a new route. Note, LYNX calls their routes "Links", so I will too. New Service: Link 709 - A one-way circulator around the Downtown Kissimmee area, connecting to SunRail, Amtrak, and other local routes at the Kissimmee Intermodal Station. Route Adjustments: Links 21 & 37 - The bus stop at the Valencia College West Campus will be moved from Valencia College Rd to near the Nursing & Fitness Center. NeighborLink 632 - The zone will be extended north to serve the Tupperware Headquarters campus. Schedule Adjustments: Link 8 - the 4:51am W

So the other day, I was on my University's shuttle bus, the Osprey Connector and overheard a conversation that got me thinking about this topic. The conversation was between two people already on the bus talking about how they like the new buses better - at the start of this academic year, UNF changed operators for the shuttle service, meaning we got new buses. But their conversation wasn't about the bus being better than the old ones, rather the drivers, in a way. The part of the conversation I overheard was: "I really like these buses better, they come a lot quicker than the old ones."  Well, there's a few things worth noting on that conversation, first was that they were comparing a Summer schedule to the Fall/Spring schedule. During the Summer semester, the buses run every 10-15 minutes while in the Fall/Spring semesters they run about every 5. So right there, the conversation they're having is already wrong. But going with it, many of the drivers from

I'm Back! Hello everyone! I'm sure you all have been wondering where I went, as my last post was last year, in 2017. I had forgotten about this for a while, and also as I am going through college I have been focusing on other things. Also, I have not had many chances to ride any public transit in a while (though I did ride on the MBTA recently), so because I haven't been using public transportation recently, this has taken a back seat. Also, to be honest, living in Jacksonville, FL while there is public transportation (Jacksonville Transportation Authority - JTA), it isn't easy to use the system since pretty much all of Jacksonville is car oriented, and the JTA system just doesn't interest me as much. But, with all that said, I do want to continue this blog and continue to be more active. Lastly, please see the link at the bottom for a link to a transit enthusiast group, if you'd like to join, just click the link and we're happy to have you! MBTA REVIE

Overview: Currently, the SunRail commuter rail system in Orlando does not directly connect to Orlando International Airport (there is a connection in the works, dubbed "Phase 3", but is years away). So, in the mean time, the way to get to or from the airport is via the LYNX Link 111 bus. That route (or "Link") travels from the Orlando International Airport to Sea World via Sand Lake Road and the State Road (SR) 528 highway with a stop at the Sand Lake Road SunRail Station.  Schedule: The bus is scheduled to arrive at the SunRail Station within minutes of the train's schedule; Eastbound buses (to Orlando International) arrive just a few minutes after the train arrives, and Westbound buses (from Orlando International) arrives just a few minutes before the train leaves.  Fares: SunRail fares are $2 and then an additional $1 for every county line crossed (Ex, start and end in Orange County, the total is $2; start in Seminole and end in Orange or Volusia, $3;