Page was last updated on 02/07/2025.
Some Information & Photos in this section were provided by:
Jake L.
Citrus Connection is the consolidated branding used for the Polk Transit Authority, the Lakeland Area Mass Transit District, & Winter Haven Area Transit. The PTA absorbed WHAT during the course of the mid 2000s & oversees the LAMTD. The general movement is towards singular, unified transit system that will efficiently & effectively serve the needs of Polk County for years to come.
Agency Snapshot
Established: 2008.
The LAMTD dates back to 1982 & WHAT dates back to 1999.
Services Provided: Local (fixed-route) bus service (some routes are contracted), Flex van service, Paratransit van service.
Number of Fixed Bus Routes:
Number of Revenue Vehicles:
Number of Major Transit Hubs: 3.
NEXT STOPS:
Real-Time Vehicle Predictions/Tracking
Citrus Connection utilizes two different applications for real-time vehicle predictions & tracking. The MyStop interface is used for all mainstay routes within the county, while the Passio GO app is used for routes that are contracted out.
Contracted routes include: Routes 16X, 17X, 18X, 19X, 20X, the 40/44 combo route, & Route 50. These routes are operated by Transitions Commute Solutions & utilize a fleet of cutaway vans.
When visiting the Passio GO website or app for the first time, you may need to manually select Citrus Connection from the list of supported agencies.
System Overview
While Citrus Connection operates under a single banner – with unified fare collection & customer service functions, the east county (LAMTD) & west county (former WHAT) networks function somewhat differently in terms of route layout. The west county system underwent a revamp in 2019 where numbered routes were essentially replaced with color-coded variants, whereas the east county system retains numbered route designations.
Many Citrus Connection routes operate Monday through Friday, with a limited number of routes operating Saturdays. As of right now, only one or two routes have any sort of Sunday service & such service is extremely limited.
In downtown Lakeland, The Squeeze shuttle operates during the weekday lunch hour, as well as Friday evenings, & during the day & evening on Saturdays. The Squeeze is a fare-free golf cart type shuttle service that serves many points of interest within the downtown area – including venues, dining, shopping, & entertainment.
Holiday Schedule
Citrus Connection does not operate on the following major holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
System Routes
Routes are grouped by section of the county, with west county routes (Lakeland) having color-coded designations (with exception to the Eastside & Westside Circulators) & east county routes (Haines City, Lake Wales, Winter Haven) having numerical designations. Please select a route name to view the current schedule.
The Squeeze is Citrus Connection’s downtown-focused microtransit services that operate in the cities of Lakeland, Bartow, & Lake Wales. These services are funded via community partnerships & are free to use. A small fleet of golf cart type shuttles are able to maneuver through city streets to get customers to where they need to go quickly & safely. Typical wait times are no more than every 10 minutes during service hours.
All routes & schedules listed are current as of 02/01/2025.
West County Routes
Serving Lakeland.
- Gold Line
- Formerly known as Route 1 under the old route system, the Gold Line serves the Florida Ave corridor from downtown Lakeland to Lake Miriam Shopping Center.
- Blue Line
- Weekday service is split into two segments, Blue Line 1 (downtown Lakeland to Gow Fields Park-N-Ride Lot) & Blue Line 2 (Gow Fields to Northside Village).
- Saturday service follows a combined version of the two weekday segments, serving most of the areas covered by weekday service.
- Red Line
- Orange Line
- Coral Line
- Eastside Circulator
- Westside Circulator
- Downtown Lakeland Squeeze Service
- Green Line
- Yellow Line
- Lemon Line
- Lime Line
- Flex service serving the southern portion of Florida Ave.
- Pink Line
- Due to roadway construction along the corridor, some portions are temporarily being served by van shuttles.
- Peach Line
- Dixieland Shuttle
- Purple Line
- Formerly known as Route 12 under the old route system, the Purple Line connects between Lakeland & Winter Haven.
- Silver Line Express
- Formerly known as Route 22XL under the old route system, the Silver Line Express provides peak-hour, bi-directional express service between Lakeland & Bartow. The Winter Haven branch of the line, the 22XW, retained its existing route number.
East County Routes
Serving Haines City, Lake Wales, & Winter Haven.
The left side column lists routes that Citrus Connection operates in-house, while the right side column lists routes by which Citrus Connection contracts out to Transitions Commute Solutions.
- Route 15: Winter Haven/Haines City
- Route 21X East: Bartow/Lake Wales Express
- Route 21X West: Bartow/Mulberry/Fort Meade Express
- Route 22XW: Bartow/Winter Haven Express
- Route 25: Bartow/Fort Meade
- Route 27X: Dundee/Eagle Ridge Mall
- Route 30: Legoland Florida
- Route 60: Winter Haven Northeast
- Lake Wales Circulator
- Route 16X: Haines City/Poinciana Express
- This route was previously contracted out to LYNX & operated as Route 416.
- Route 17X: Lake Wales/Haines City Express
- Route 18X: Posner Park/Four Corners Express
- This route was previously contracted out to LYNX & operated as Route 427.
- Route 19X: Posner Park/Poinciana Express
- Serves the Poinciana SunRail station on weekdays.
- Route 20X: Haines City/Davenport Express
- Routes 40/44: Winter Haven Southside
- Route 50: Auburndale
- Route 603: Southwest Poinciana
- Flex service serving the Polk County portion of Poinciana. This service was previously operated by LYNX as NeighborLink 603.
Lake Wales Squeeze
Weekdays only from 11am until 2pm.
Bartow Squeeze
Weekdays only from 10:30am until 2:30pm.
Squeeze Service During Inclement Weather
Citrus Connection may alter or suspend Squeeze services during inclement weather events. Check Citrus Connection’s website or social media channels to stay updated.
Vehicle Fleet
Citrus Connection primarily operates a fleet of Gillig Low Floor & El Dorado EZ-Rider II BRT buses. There is a small fleet of secondhand Gillig units that the agency purchased from LYNX, as well as a small fleet of Arboc cutaway vans for lower-used routes (the agency also has cutaway vans from other manufacturers such as Glaval). Contracted routes utilize the contractor’s fleet of Starcraft Starlite cutaway vans.
Gillig Low Floor & Gillig BRT Diesel
El Dorado National EZ-Rider II BRT Diesel
Cutaway Vans
Current Fleet Roster
The Fleet Gallery section will be added at a later date.
Disclaimer
While I do my best to keep the information listed in the Transport sections accurate, please keep in mind that schedules, fares, & other information is subject to change without notice. To obtain the latest information, please contact the transit agency directly. If you spot something wrong, please let me know via the Contact form.
The Global Transit Guidebook 