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Polk County bus riders will soon have more evening options, as Citrus Connection plans to extend service by three hours on the system’s five most popular routes.
Citrus Connection was recently awarded a $1.1 million grant by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to fund an Extended Service Pilot Program. The initiative will span the next two years and will directly meet demands from workers, families and students.
Community asked, service delivered
A 2024 survey found almost 65% of riders ranked adding three or more hours of evening service as their top priority, according to Tom Phillips, Citrus Connection’s executive director.
Together these routes account for more than 50% of system ridership, which according to Phillips makes the pilot especially meaningful.
“This grant allows us to respond directly to the voices of our riders,” said Phillips.
Boost for jobs and families
70% of riders use Citrus Connection as means of transportation to their jobs. The extended hours will give riders more reliable transit for evening-shift workers and their families.
More than half of households in Polk County are either living in poverty or fall into the ALICE category — families working but struggling to cover the basics. With many residents employed in lower-wage industries like health services, education and hospitality, reliable evening transit can mean the difference between keeping a job and losing it.
Two-year test, long-term vision
The pilot program will run for two years. Success will be measured through ridership data and community feedback:
Phillips said FDOT will primarily measure success by a “gold standard” of 10 or more passengers per hour, along with month-over-month growth. Citrus Connection will also add a rider satisfaction question to its next two annual surveys and seek input from groups like the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and Lakeland Downtown Development Authority.
While future funding is never guaranteed, Phillips noted FDOT has continued to fund other demonstration projects, such as the Peach Line. A demonstration project grant provides short-term funding to test new approaches in a real-world setting before deciding whether to expand them permanently.
Transit that listens
By expanding evening hours, Citrus Connection shows how local transit is adapting to Polk County’s needs and prioritizing quality of life.
“I think the board and all the staff would like to thank FDOT and let the second-shift and service sector workers know that rides are on the way — get ready to pick up those late shifts you’ve had to say no to,” said Phillips.
Insight Polk examines community conditions and solutions in six target areas from UCIndicators.org: economic & employment opportunity, education, housing, food security, transportation & infrastructure, and quality of life.
LkldNow’s Insight Polk independent reporting is made possible by the United Community Indicators Project with funding by GiveWell Community Foundation & United Way of Central Florida. All editorial decisions are made by LkldNow.
Kayla Borg is a Lakeland native and graduate of Western Carolina University, where she earned her degree in English and film production. She began her media career in Atlanta at CNN, quickly rising from production assistant editor to technical director/editor, leading live broadcasts alongside field reporters. Since then, she’s worked in education, instructional design and independent filmmaking.
