Orlando Crime Seems a Tad Crazy (Tampa, Spring Hill: credit card, home, school) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

smarino · 09-20-2015, 01:04 AM

I recently came back from a fact finding mission from Daytona to St. Pete through Orlando (loved the St. Pete vibe, and we're moving there ASAP). Being relatively poor, and also being someone that does not drive, I ended up taking a city bus from the Orlando International Airport into downtown Orlando, then a bus to the Greyhound terminal located at 555 N. John Young Parkway, then a Greyhound bus on into St. Pete. It was a pretty hair raising experience, especially on the return leg.

Now first of all let me say that I am a VERY seasoned traveler, especially on the cheap. So after seeing the low sides of San Francisco, Honolulu, New York, Orlando (20 years ago or more), and tons of other cities, I knew that Greyhound terminals tend to be located in bad areas. i also knew from my one recent trip to downtown Orlando that the Lynx terminal area looked a little dicey. There's a reason why there's a heavy police presence there, right? But even I was unprepared for what I encountered.

The bus in from the airport to Lynx was great. Friendly driver, and an uneventful trip....uneventful that is until we got near the Lynx terminal, when a very agitated homeless guy leaped into the bus after a passenger boarded and acted so strange that even I was freaked out. No one even paid him any attention on the bus though, as they seemed to take these things in stride. After a bit, the completely crazy guy leaped back out of the bus, and went on and on w/ all sorts of strange goings on. Sorta entertaining, sorta disturbing. The Lynx terminal was much crazier than my first visit months ago, and it was a sideshow of walking wounded from the psych wards mixed w/ the usual people w/ pants down to their knees, strange looks, etc. In short, a typical inner city bus hub. The bus from there to the Greyhound terminal got stranger and stranger until we got to the Greyhound location, a place I can only describe as being conveniently located in the heart of the hood. It was so dicey that I decided to stay inside the terminal until my bus arrived 2 hours later, just to be safe, but outside the doors near the street the action was just insane.

I got to St. Pete, and upon leaving tried to book w/ Megabus in Tampa in order to avoid this scene, but no one seemed to speak English well enough on the phone for me to feel confident that I would actually get a bus, so it was back to the Dirty Dog to get back to Orlando, then a shuttle back home on Daytona. Well let me tell you that later in the day at Greyhound they should post some armed police, armed guards, or some darned thing. I saw how nuts it was, and decided against standing on the road to wait for a bus into Lynx. When I tried to take one of the many cabs that were lined up right by Greyhound's door, the driver refused to take me to Lynx and told me to take one of the gypsy cabs over by the Stop n Rob gas station next door. I looked at those cabs, and decided no way I would step into them. So I called Yellow Cab (Myers Transportation Services) and cabbed it to the airport.

While waiting on my cab, which arrived within 5 minutes, I was approached by two hookers right in front of the Greyhound door, both of whom gave me a real hard sell. Crack sellers and pimps were everywhere, and I actually witnessed a drug transaction between one of the dope dealers and the cab driver that had refused to take me downtown. This happened in broad daylight just a few feet from the bus terminal entrance! After the deal, the cabbie had the dealer sign some sort of paper laid on the hood of the cab, and while I was waiting on my cab at the next door Stop n Rob store the dealer came stumbling over w/ the money clutched tightly in his hands, went inside, and bought a bunch of lottery tickets and a beer. Hello Orlando! You have some really serious crime issues, the likes of which I haven't really seen in my entire life other than seeing the L. A. bus terminal. I seriously thought I would get mugged, not only outside Greyhound but maybe even inside the building. Jeeez.

MCOWPB · 09-20-2015, 02:45 AM

???

You're traveling on the Greyhound & the Lynx to and from major metro areas... this same situation would happen in any other equivalent city. And you're also in Florida, a transient and fastly growing state, notorious for all sorts of shady characters. Were you expecting hopscotch and Sesame Street? You think Orlando is bad? Try doing the same thing some blighted city in Ohio or Michigan.

It's no secret Orlando has its issues with crime but these alarmist crime threads are getting so tiresome. I feel like CityData is home to some of the wimpiest people on earth.

If that shocked you after everything you've seen in San Francisco or LA, then I don't know what to tell you.

bmw335xi · 09-20-2015, 04:31 AM

I'm confused, your thread title is "Orlando Crime Seems a Tad Crazy" yet you weren't a victim of a crime...

Because you felt nervous of the people around you, you refer to Orlando as a city with crazy crime. Why because they were Black or Hispanic? What made you feel like you were about to be mugged, yet you weren't? It sounds like you are just a bit paranoid and jumping to conclusions.

Anyways, you should use MegaBus. It's a great experience and I drive a very nice car. You don't see homeless people because they require a credit card. You also get free wifi on board.

tinytrump · 09-20-2015, 07:12 AM

what happen to Mega bus and Uber if so poor?

Joey Falcon · 09-20-2015, 07:31 AM

Yes, crime very bad. And bad drivers too.

Spring Hillian · 09-20-2015, 08:28 AM

Did you follow the drug dealer into the store to witness his transaction there? If not how would you know what he did? How are ylu sure he sold crack to the cabbie. It could have been heroin, no?

Indeed the bus station (Greyhound) is in a very rough part of town.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smarino

I recently came back from a fact finding mission from Daytona to St. Pete through Orlando (loved the St. Pete vibe, and we're moving there ASAP). Being relatively poor, and also being someone that does not drive, I ended up taking a city bus from the Orlando International Airport into downtown Orlando, then a bus to the Greyhound terminal located at 555 N. John Young Parkway, then a Greyhound bus on into St. Pete. It was a pretty hair raising experience, especially on the return leg.

Now first of all let me say that I am a VERY seasoned traveler, especially on the cheap. So after seeing the low sides of San Francisco, Honolulu, New York, Orlando (20 years ago or more), and tons of other cities, I knew that Greyhound terminals tend to be located in bad areas. i also knew from my one recent trip to downtown Orlando that the Lynx terminal area looked a little dicey. There's a reason why there's a heavy police presence there, right? But even I was unprepared for what I encountered.

The bus in from the airport to Lynx was great. Friendly driver, and an uneventful trip....uneventful that is until we got near the Lynx terminal, when a very agitated homeless guy leaped into the bus after a passenger boarded and acted so strange that even I was freaked out. No one even paid him any attention on the bus though, as they seemed to take these things in stride. After a bit, the completely crazy guy leaped back out of the bus, and went on and on w/ all sorts of strange goings on. Sorta entertaining, sorta disturbing. The Lynx terminal was much crazier than my first visit months ago, and it was a sideshow of walking wounded from the psych wards mixed w/ the usual people w/ pants down to their knees, strange looks, etc. In short, a typical inner city bus hub. The bus from there to the Greyhound terminal got stranger and stranger until we got to the Greyhound location, a place I can only describe as being conveniently located in the heart of the hood. It was so dicey that I decided to stay inside the terminal until my bus arrived 2 hours later, just to be safe, but outside the doors near the street the action was just insane.

I got to St. Pete, and upon leaving tried to book w/ Megabus in Tampa in order to avoid this scene, but no one seemed to speak English well enough on the phone for me to feel confident that I would actually get a bus, so it was back to the Dirty Dog to get back to Orlando, then a shuttle back home on Daytona. Well let me tell you that later in the day at Greyhound they should post some armed police, armed guards, or some darned thing. I saw how nuts it was, and decided against standing on the road to wait for a bus into Lynx. When I tried to take one of the many cabs that were lined up right by Greyhound's door, the driver refused to take me to Lynx and told me to take one of the gypsy cabs over by the Stop n Rob gas station next door. I looked at those cabs, and decided no way I would step into them. So I called Yellow Cab (Myers Transportation Services) and cabbed it to the airport.

While waiting on my cab, which arrived within 5 minutes, I was approached by two hookers right in front of the Greyhound door, both of whom gave me a real hard sell. Crack sellers and pimps were everywhere, and I actually witnessed a drug transaction between one of the dope dealers and the cab driver that had refused to take me downtown. This happened in broad daylight just a few feet from the bus terminal entrance! After the deal, the cabbie had the dealer sign some sort of paper laid on the hood of the cab, and while I was waiting on my cab at the next door Stop n Rob store the dealer came stumbling over w/ the money clutched tightly in his hands, went inside, and bought a bunch of lottery tickets and a beer. Hello Orlando! You have some really serious crime issues, the likes of which I haven't really seen in my entire life other than seeing the L. A. bus terminal. I seriously thought I would get mugged, not only outside Greyhound but maybe even inside the building. Jeeez.

chopchop0 · 09-20-2015, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I'm confused, your thread title is "Orlando Crime Seems a Tad Crazy" yet you weren't a victim of a crime...

Because you felt nervous of the people around you, you refer to Orlando as a city with crazy crime. Why because they were Black or Hispanic? What made you feel like you were about to be mugged, yet you weren't? It sounds like you are just a bit paranoid and jumping to conclusions.

Anyways, you should use MegaBus. It's a great experience and I drive a very nice car. You don't see homeless people because they require a credit card. You also get free wifi on board.

This happened near where I went to grad school. kinda scary IMO

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crim...icle-1.1029901

Spring Hillian · 09-20-2015, 08:35 AM

You have to admit that the rate of crime is very high in Orlando. Its not the same place it was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCOWPB

???

You're traveling on the Greyhound & the Lynx to and from major metro areas... this same situation would happen in any other equivalent city. And you're also in Florida, a transient and fastly growing state, notorious for all sorts of shady characters. Were you expecting hopscotch and Sesame Street? You think Orlando is bad? Try doing the same thing some blighted city in Ohio or Michigan.

It's no secret Orlando has its issues with crime but these alarmist crime threads are getting so tiresome. I feel like CityData is home to some of the wimpiest people on earth.

If that shocked you after everything you've seen in San Francisco or LA, then I don't know what to tell you.

Arcenal813 · 09-20-2015, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

You have to admit that the rate of crime is very high in Orlando. Its not the same place it was.

It is, yes, but to say one would feel more intimidated than in the low sides of NYC is ridiculous. Go stand around in Brownsville by yourself and see how long you last.

Joey Falcon · 09-20-2015, 09:47 AM

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