ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Passengers don't have to pay a dime to ride the Orlando Lymmo downtown bus service, but taxpayers pay plenty. Now, the city wants to expand that service even more, which means it'll cost more.
DOCUMENT: Lymmo Proposed Routes
At this point, the city has absolutely no idea how it would pay to expand routes in the years to come. It's relying on a study to determine if it can afford it.
Transportation officials want to extend its routes north-south to Florida Hospital and Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC), and east-west from Parramore to the Thornton Park area.
"I think it's a good idea. I can go for it," Lymmo rider Robert Waldron told WFTV.
"We are evaluating what it would cost to operate it everyday," said Christine Kefauver of the city of Orlando.
The downtown 2.5-mile route costs $1 million a year to run. It's a total that is sure to increase if the Lymmo service area quadruples; the city might start charging passengers.
Revenue from a downtown parking garage and a downtown business tax pay for the free rides. But all taxpayers, even those who never use Lymmo, paid a portion of the $1.5 million federal grant that funds the ongoing study.
Lymmo rider Henry Haselton doesn't think that's fair.
"If I was them, I say don't do it," he said.
"Even if you chose not to use transit you'll still have less congested roads," Kefauver explained.
Planners are preparing for Orlando's population growth, which is expected to double by 2025. They're also expecting thousands of visitors who will take SunRail to downtown Orlando, but won't have a way to get around once they're here.
"If SunRail doesn't happen, will this money be wasted?" WFTV reporter Q. McCray asked Kefauver.
"No. We'd still do it. Lymmo expansion has been in the works for the last eight years," she said.
The city is confident the benefits of the expansion should outweigh its cost, but that's still to be determined. The city's study should be complete by the fall.
If the expansion is a go, the city could look for more federal funding to pay for it.
WFTV
