SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — This week starts a new era of public transportation for Seminole County. Eight fixed LYNX bus routes are no longer in service. Instead a micro-transit system known as Scout is taking over.

What You Need To Know

The service change took effect on Sunday, Jan. 11, so Monday was the first day many navigated the new LYNX routes and Scout

Seminole County expects Scout to break record rides with more than 800 ridwes in the day
Scout is like a Seminole County-based Uber with a driver in a minivan

LYNX riders are still resistant to make the switch and got creative to find other ways to their destination now that 8 fixed bus routes are gone in Seminole County

LYNX employees are working to take down bus stops and shelters no longer in use, that process is expected to take about one month

“The wheels are turning to a new chapter. It is a mess because literally now nobody knows where they are going,” said Samantha Carawan, who rides LYNX buses often.

During the transition, there have been a few bumps in the road.

“I am totally lost, I don’t know what is going on,” said Shanariah Gryce, who took LYNX buses for the first time. 

Eight fixed routes in Seminole County were eliminated, others that stayed were changed.

“I am like two hours late to work so this is my first day at the job, so I am very nervous, and I just hope I still got it,” Gryce said.

It was the first time on LYNX for Gryce, but others like Carawan have been riding LYNX buses for 15 years.

“I would get on Fern Park all the way down to where I am supposed to go and now I am taking three different buses so it is a lot,” Carawan said.

LYNX and Seminole County have hosted public sessions, posted signs and had people out at stops to let riders know Scout is the way to go, but many riders refuse to switch.

“I have no choice; I don’t have the money to get on a Scout and the Scout doesn’t even go all the way to Apopka because it is not Seminole County,” Carawan said.

Scout is like a rideshare service, but some say it cost too much, and it takes too long. In fact, Scout is like a Seminole County-based Uber with a driver in a minivan.

“I think just give it a try,” said Chris Patton, the director of Communications in Seminole County.

Patton said there are discounts for seniors, people with disabilities, students and low income.

“We also have a low income that you can apply for on the website and that is 50 percent off, and those rides are capped at either $2 or $5 for anywhere you go in the county,” Patton said.

To save time, Patton recommends ordering your Scout ride when you are 45 minutes to an hour out, instead of at the time you are ready, since wait times can be up to an hour.

“We were ready for today but obviously the demand has been greater than it has been in the past month,” Patton said.

Over the weekend, the county added seven new vehicles, now a total of 42 on the roads. Their busiest day so far, was more than 800 rides, but Monday is likely to break that record, even though not all LYNX riders have given Scout a shot. 

A spokesperson for LYNX said crews are out taking down bus stops and shelters no longer in use, that process is expected to be complete by early February.