Lynx buses
Lynx buses: the $2 network locals actually use
Lynx carries Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties on 62 daily bus routes for two dollars a ride. Visitors mostly ignore it, and mostly that is correct. But there are three or four routes that will save you real money, and one that does something no other option does.
A Lynx Route 102 bus in Orlando · by Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0
At a glance
- Our pick
- Link 311, airport to Epic Universe or Disney Springs
- $2.00
- Best value
- 7-day pass, unlimited full-fare rides
- $16.00
- All day
- Unlimited rides, pays for itself on the third trip
- $4.50
- Skip it if
- You have checked bags, small children or a deadline
- —
What Lynx is
Lynx is the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, the public bus operator for Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. Routes are branded Link plus a number, and the network covers roughly 2,500 square miles. It is a conventional bus system serving a region built around cars, which means it goes almost everywhere and takes a while to do it.
For visitors the calculation is simple and worth doing honestly: a week of Lynx passes costs $16 per person. A week of rideshare hops for the same trips costs several hundred dollars. The difference is your time and your patience, and how much luggage you are dragging.
Fares and passes
| Single ride | $2.00 |
|---|---|
| All-day pass | $4.50 |
| 7-day pass | $16.00 |
| Transfers | Included between Lynx routes |
| Payment | Cash on board, or tap to pay and mobile ticketing |
If you will make three or more trips in a day, the $4.50 all-day pass is already the cheaper option. If you are here for a week and using the bus as your primary transport, the 7-day pass at $16 is close to free relative to any alternative.
Routes worth knowing
Link 311: MCO to Disney Springs
The route that changes the maths for budget travellers. Launched in April 2024 and extended in April 2025, it runs daily from about 5:00 a.m. to 11:05 p.m., roughly every 30 minutes, connecting Orlando International Airport with the Disney Springs Transfer Center by way of Epic Universe.
- MCOOrlando International Airport
- Sand Lake RdSunRail connection
- Florida MallSuperStop
- Epic UniverseCharter bus loop
- Helios GrandUniversal hotel
- Destination PkwySuperStop, Convention Center
- Disney SpringsTransfer to Disney buses
Since the April 2025 service change the route also calls at the Universal Epic Universe bus loop and the Universal Helios Grand Hotel. There is now a $2 bus from Orlando International Airport to the gate of Orlando's newest theme park, which may be the most useful and least known fact about Central Florida transit.
At the Disney Springs end you transfer to Disney's own internal bus network, which is free, and reach any Disney resort or park. The whole journey from airport to a Disney resort costs $2 and takes a couple of hours.
Routes along International Drive
Several Lynx routes run the I-Drive and Universal Boulevard corridors, overlapping with the I-Ride Trolley. Where both serve your stop, the trolley is usually the better visitor experience and the trolley's multi-day passes are cheaper than paying Lynx singles.
Downtown and the SunRail connection
LYNX Central Station is also a SunRail station, so bus and train connect in one place. For anything involving downtown Orlando, Winter Park or the medical district, that transfer is the backbone of getting around without a car.
LYNX Central Station
The downtown hub where most routes converge. If you are going to use Lynx for more than one trip, learn this station. It is signposted, staffed, has route maps posted, and is the one point in the network where transferring is straightforward rather than an exercise in faith.
When the bus is the wrong call
We would rather tell you this than let you find out at a bus stop on Sand Lake Road in August.
- With checked luggage. Lynx buses have no luggage racks. You hold your bags, in the aisle, for the duration.
- With small children. Long waits, no shade at many stops, and multiple transfers make this genuinely hard with a toddler.
- On a schedule. A missed bus can cost an hour. If you have a flight, a reservation or a show time, the bus is not the right risk.
- Late at night. Most routes stop running well before the parks and bars close.
- In summer rain. Central Florida rains hard most afternoons from June to September. Many stops have no shelter.
None of that makes Lynx bad. It makes it a system designed for people who live here and plan around it, being used by people who arrived yesterday.
Before you travel
Fares, schedules and pickup locations in Central Florida change without much notice. Everything here was checked on September 15, 2026. Confirm anything that matters to your trip with the operator before you rely on it. Found something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Common questions
A single ride is $2.00. An all-day pass is $4.50 and a 7-day pass is $16.00, both covering unlimited full-fare rides. Transfers to other Lynx routes are included.
Link 311, the Disney and Orlando International Airport Express, runs between MCO and the Disney Springs Transfer Center. Since April 2025 it also calls at the Universal Epic Universe bus loop and the Universal Helios Grand Hotel, plus the Destination Parkway SuperStop near the Convention Center, the Florida Mall SuperStop and the Sand Lake Road SunRail station. It runs daily from about 5:00 a.m. to 11:05 p.m., roughly every 30 minutes.
Closer than most visitors think. Link 311 serves the Universal Epic Universe bus loop directly and reaches Disney Springs, from which Disney's own free internal buses take you to any Disney park. Other routes serve the International Drive corridor. Outside Epic Universe, budget for a walk and a transfer at the far end.
The hub in downtown Orlando where most routes converge, and also a SunRail station. If you are making any cross-town bus trip, your route will very likely pass through it. It is the one place where the network is genuinely easy to use.
It is a normal American mid-size-city bus system: safe enough, clean enough, and slower than the app suggests. The real risk to your plans is not safety, it is headway. On many routes a missed bus means 30 to 60 minutes of standing in Florida sun with no shade.
If you are travelling solo or as a couple, staying near a SuperStop, not carrying much, and not on a clock, Lynx is a legitimate way to save a hundred dollars over a week. If you are a family with luggage, or you have a dinner reservation, it is the wrong tool and the savings are not worth what they cost you.
Who wrote this
Evan Ross is publisher of this site and a working Orlando transport operator. He is a part-owner of Lenox Transport, which is why he knows how this city moves and why you should discount his ranking of car services. He lives in Winter Park and has been moving people around this city commercially since 2024. More about the site and its conflicts of interest.