FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Steve Myers or Jeff Shuler, Lee Tran
                (941) 277-5012

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 31, 2000) – The opening Thursday (Nov. 2) of Lee County’s new Intermodal Transfer Center (ITC) will give public transportation passengers an efficient, seamless way to travel virtually door-to-door to destinations in Lee County and throughout the state and nation.

The ribbon cutting for the $2.6-million facility – located at 2250 Peck Street in downtown Fort Myers, just east of the Fort Myers Police Department – will be at 10 a.m.

The 21,000-square-foot facility has been in the planning since 1994. The terminal will serve Lee Tran (the county’s bus system), Greyhound bus and taxi passengers and will be the Fort Myers home of Greyhound. It has nine covered bus/passenger shelters for Lee Tran buses, five covered bus/passenger shelters for Greyhound buses and two covered shelters for handicap van drop off and pick up. There also are four taxicab spaces and a customer parking lot. The terminal building itself has a waiting lobby, restrooms, food and beverage concession area and ticket counters for Lee Tran and Greyhound.

For Lee Tran riders, it is a central one-stop shop where passengers can handle all of their local transit needs. The ITC is the first transfer facility where riders can actually talk face-to-face with Lee Tran staff, providing a quicker, more convenient and more personal way for riders to get up-to-the-minute route information and find the bus schedule that best fits their needs. Each route servicing downtown Fort Myers will have a dedicated bay within the ITC, making buses quicker and easier to find.

Passengers also will be able to buy Lee Tran passes in the ITC. If riders have a couple of minutes while waiting for a transfer, they can buy a pass and get back in time to catch their connection.

The facility offers the opportunity for everyone to make transportation connections, including pedestrians, bicyclists, local transit and transportation disadvantaged passengers, commuters and regional travelers. Located in the Downtown Pedestrian District, the terminal building is within easy walking distance of City of Palms Park, the Skatium, the State Office Building, the Fort Myers-Lee County Public Library, Fort Myers City Hall, Lee County Government offices, the Justice Center, the state and federal courts, and the Downtown Entertainment District.

The City of Fort Myers donated the nearly two acres of land for the Center and the Florida Department of Transportation contributed $2.3 million of the cost. Lee County built and will operate the Center.