Service Guidelines
Every three months, usually in April, August, and December, LYNX bus service undergoes a service change. Bus routes and schedules are adjusted to:
- Accommodate ridership demands
- Improve on-time performance
- Improve connections to other services
- Address safety concerns
LYNX online trip planning information in the Trip Planner, Google Transit and Bing Maps is also updated.
Evaluation
LYNX’s Service Planning and Development staff develops and evaluates each service change based on input from patrons, employees, studies, partner jurisdiction requests, and performance monitoring results. All changes are made in accordance with ADA, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and local and state guidelines.
The evaluation process includes a formal public review of the proposals, a technical evaluation of ridership and resource impacts based on established service guidelines and standards, and coordination with key stakeholders in the regional bus system.
Federal guidelines (https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/fta-circulars/title-vi-requirements-and-guidelines-federal-transit) and LYNX policy require that a public hearing be held when major service changes to the bus system are considered. LYNX conducts outreach to notify the public of the upcoming changes, conducts public hearings, and surveys riders for public comment. Proposed service change information is also made available onboard LYNX buses, on LYNX website (www.golynx.com), as well as on our social media feeds (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Once a service change is reviewed and approved by our regional funding partners and the LYNX Board of Directors, the proposed service changes go into effect, and new public timetables, maps, brochures, and bus operator work assignments are developed.
Timeline
| Timeline of Service Change Activity | Public Process | Service Planning Activity |
|---|---|---|
| January May September |
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| February June October |
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| March July November |
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| April August December |
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Federal guidelines and LYNX policy require that a public hearing be held when major service changes to the bus system are considered.
Major service changes are defined as:
- Any service reduction impacting more than 25 percent of an individual route’s total revenue hours*.
- Any service reduction impacting more than 25 percent of an individual route’s total revenue miles*.
- Route Eliminations.
*The exception of this reduction of service threshold will be routes that have existed less than two (2) years or have been introduced as a service development or experimental service.
Public Hearing Process
LYNX service change policy requires that public hearings are held to gather public comment on major service changes and to allow the public to make recommendations to approve, modify, or deny the proposed changes. These recommendations are then brought to the LYNX Board of Directors for approval.
The process begins when LYNX Service Planning staff presents the proposed service changes to the regional funding partners. LYNX Service Planning staff then sets dates, times, and locations for public hearings to be held in each of the three funding partner jurisdictions.
After the hearing details are established, a Notice of Public Hearing is published in the Orlando Sentinel and the El Sentinel a minimum of ten (10) days in advance of the hearings. The Notice of Public Hearings is also posted at LYNX headquarters located at 455 N. Garland in downtown Orlando in the building lobby, at LYNX Central Station in the lobby, on LYNX’s website (www.golynx.com), and on LYNX social media.
At each public hearing, a detailed presentation of the proposed changes is provided, then public comments are accepted on the proposals. The public hearing is adjourned when all comments have been received.
Subsequent to each hearing, LYNX Service Planning staff review all comments, and summarizes them in a report with their final service change recommendations. This report is distributed to the regional funding partners for review. The final report is presented to the LYNX Board of Directors, who will approve the recommendations or propose an alternate service change plan.