Problems with the commute  included not only timing of the trains but also lack of transportation options at either end of my train route. It was a big hassle to get to and from work.

Last week our local bus system, Lynx, started a test run of NeighborLink shuttle to take people from the Maitland Sunrail station to the offices in Maitland on the other side of I-4. This is great news since that was a very painful part of my commute.

I took advantage of this trial period to see if this could be a commuting solution for me. I chose a Thursday close to the slow holidays to test this out. I was slightly afraid there may be a hitch in my commute and I would end up later to work by accident.

The shuttle requires you to call a number 2 hours in advance of your ride to make sure you are scheduled for it. Because my expected ride time is at 7:05 am (which means a 5:00 am call!) I decided to call the day before. The person on the phone informed me that the shuttle will be at the station at 3 scheduled times in the morning so all I need to do is show up. She added my name and phone number to the system so my request call to get taken back to the station would be more efficient.

My plan for the next day is to get there early to catch the first train. I added some buffer time to figure out how to buy a ticket.

To make sure I was ready I did some preparations the night before:

Checked my tires for air. Pumped them up to recommended PSI.
Checked all my lights to make sure they worked.
Located my “lost” bike lock – it fell under my husbands rarely used car – doh!
Set clothes and supplies aside for the next day.

I woke up about 5:00 am and checked the weather. It was to be a chilly morning but I wasn’t worried, I can sweat in a snow storm.

Jeans and sneakers will do for this ride. Boy am I tired. I decide to tackle the makeup thing at work in case I end up dripping in sweat.

I removed my basket so I would have less hassle with parking and make it slightly lighter.

I turned on all my lights and I was ready to go.

The ride down to the Florida Hospital took me about 23 minutes. A couple extra minutes is dedicated to finding suitable bike parking. The ride is uneventful but my hands are pretty cold throughout the ride.

Bike parking is found within a Florida Hospital garage right next to the Sunrail Station. I locked it up and hoped all the parts would be there when I returned.

I wasn’t sure which way to go but I could see the sunrail platform right outside the garage so there should be a easy way to get to it from the garage right? Yeah no! I walked out the “exit”/staircase door only to find it was a dead end with no direct way to get to the Sunrail platform. The door shut behind me and there was no handle to get back in the garage. It was either go all the way around to find another way there or climb across a ditch. I chose the ditch because it was the shortest route. Things were dry so it was ok but I suppose this will not be an option for me on rainy days.

Dead end

The ditch

I still had almost ten minutes to get a ticket and get on the train. Buying a ticket was easy but I got help from an attendant since it was my first time. I decided on a round-trip ticket for this trip since I didn’t know when my next commute day would be. I chose my destination from the kiosk. I am traveling only one county so my fare is $3.75. I think the cost goes up depending on how many counties you cross in your commute. I am assuming the monthly passes are more economical.

Users need to tap before you get on and tap when you get off the train. I guess this is to activate the ticket.

The train arrives on time and I choose a seat upstairs.

I have time to pack my helmet away until this afternoon for my ride home.

An attendant checks my ticket to verify I have activated it.

Didn’t really test the wifi out but it seems to be available.

Two stops and 12.5 minutes later I am at my stop in Maitland. It is time to tap off.

We arrived at 6:48 AM. The shuttle was there waiting.

The lady driving the shuttle was extremely helpful and friendly. She gave me details all about the service. Unfortunately we were not scheduled to leave until 7:05 (over 15 minute wait). I suppose they wait for the southbound train to arrive before making the first trip. While I enjoyed the conversation I wish the shuttle could have taken off immediately after the train trip. It was already adding 15 minutes of idle time by having this waiting period.

While in the shuttle I found out that it will not service my side of Maitland Boulevard as of this time. I also learn how the shuttle has many places it cannot go (for example it is forbidden to go into Altamonte Springs which is in some places right across the street from Maitland office areas). I am lucky because they can drop off in front of RDV Sportsplex which is not a long walk across the busy street to my building. I will save the whining for those who work in building set much further behind on my side of Maitland Blvd. The shuttle has one other passenger to drop off and took about 15 1/2 minutes to get there from the station.  I arrive at the office at 7:30 AM.

Crossing Maitland Blvd by foot.

Total commute time to work is 1 hour 30 minutes.

For the trip home the driver informed me that she already had scheduled pickups at RDV, one at 5:00 and one at 5:30.  I could call 2 hours in advance if I wanted another pickup time. I decided the 5:00 pickup would be sufficient to get me to the 5:29 PM train and it was.

Pick up spot at RDV

The shuttle arrived promptly. Traffic was already starting to get backed up. It took us a little over 15 minutes to get back to the station.

I headed over to wait for my Southbound train (15 min wait).

The train ride back took about 13 minutes. I was happy when I arrived to find my bike locked up and safe in the Florida Hospital garage.

It had warmed up a bit but still cool enough to be only a slightly sweaty ride home.

The bike ride home is only slightly more challenging because there is more traffic. I feel the need to go faster to keep up with traffic. I chose to stay on the busy road for most of the ride home but I could easily subsitute cutting through the Audubon Park neighborhood to make it a more relaxing ride.
I commute that way most days and the big difference with being on the bike is that I had an urge to stop at a local business to shop or meet friends. Unfortunately no friends were out at the time and I couldn’t think of an errand that needed to be run that day. Being on a bike really exposes you more to a neighborhood and I think that is a good thing.

In my previous trip I was real frustrated with my riding experience. The train itself is clean and timely and the staff is friendly and helpful. My complaints then were about the lack of more frequent trains and lack of connection options. At least for now the connection options are getting better. The most frustrating part of the bike commute is now replaced by the shuttle. I still don’t know if this is a practical solution for me. Commuting each way took an hour and a half. When I traveled last time it was only a little over an hour each way. I didn’t like that I had to wait 15 minutes for the shuttle to leave the station. It is real hard to convince someone whose worse case car commute is 45 minutes (normal 25 minutes) to give up an extra hour and a half a day to take the train. Some areas that could improve even more: increase train frequency (allow commuters to time the shuttle better), have on demand shuttle trips from the station or as soon as a train arrives, expand the office drop-off area of the Maitland shuttle, and add more feeder shuttles (ummm…Baldwin Park).

Will I take it again? If the Maitland shuttle continues then yes. I won’t ride it every day, it isn’t practical for me sometimes due to the nature of the work I do. But I can attempt to ride a couple times a week. Adding some extra bike riding would be good for my overall health.  I would like to try next to time the commute so I can attempt a 6:00 pm exercise class in either Winter Park or Mills 50 or try commuting with some baggage (laptop, lunch or change of clothing).
I am looking forward to what the future holds for Sunrail. I see so many areas where it can get better.
Hopefully I will have another happy update soon!