I-Ride Trolley Bus International Drive Review

If you aren't hiring a car, you have two excellent ways to get around. The Lynx bus service or the I-Ride Trolley bus. The Lynx bus service covers all of Orlando whilst the I-Ride specialises in once specific area: International Drive.

The I-Ride Trolley Buses

The buses are remanufactured trolleys painted in green and all with smiley faces on the front. Every trolley looks the same from the exterior so whilst the Lynx buses come in all shapes and sizes, it's easy spotting a trolley bus.

Most trolley buses offer disabled access through the means of a wheelchair lift.

The seats are wooden, some with padded cushions.

A cable runs along the length of this which you pull on to request a stop. A radio plays quietly in the background interrupted with the stop number prior to arriving at each one. This means that if you lose count, you can be reminded of the next stop number.

The drivers are all seemingly friendly and most speak to you when you thank them.

I-Ride Trolley Bus

Routes

Two routes run along the I-Drive area: green line and main line.

The main line starts at the top of International Drive and runs right to the bottom. The green line extends a little further north (serving Universal Studios via the Doubletree hotel and a 10 minute walk) and runs south along Universal Boulevard for a stretch. Both services run as far south as Orlando Premium Outlets, and cross paths occasionally (these are called Transfer Stops).

Thanks to the Transfer Stops, you can catch one service and switch to another to access specific parts of the network.

Prices

A trip costs $1 per person regardless of length. If you want to transfer trolleys, the driver can print a transfer card so you won't have to pay again. People aged 65 and over ride for $0.25 per trip.

If, like us, you would use I-Ride an awful lot during your holiday, you would be better off buying a pass. At $9 for a 7 day pass and $16 for a 14 day pass, these offer unbeatable value and can be quickly recouped after a handful of trips. 

Reliability

You get what you pay for so don't expect a 100% reliable service. Traffic and operation restrictions can impact upon routes and times.

Once night we had to wait an hour for a green line service (should be every 30 minutes). Other nights, we had to wait all of 30 seconds for a service.

The I-Ride offers fantastic value and reasonable reliability. Just remember to be patient and perhaps allocate more time for travelling than you would if you were to hire a car.

Website: http://www.iridetrolley.com/
Cheap passes: http://www.iridetrolley.com/store/index.asp

I-Ride Trolley image © I-Ride.

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