Would We Take The Train

Brightline has lowered their 2024 projections based on the 2023 actual ridership numbers. Does that bode well or not for the health of passenger rail’s future?

One thing we do know is that passenger rail has never been sustainable in the long term without a government subsidy if not eventual ownership. The cost to provide a ride often exceeds what the consumer is willing or able to pay. To see whether Brightline will beat those odds will require much ciphering.

I have written before that when I go to Miami for a couple of days, I happily park in West Palm and ride the train down. The cost to park at a Miami hotel, the stress of driving to and in the city, and the likelihood that I would need the car once there are the factors in my decision.

So far, the cost of the train fare and parking at the station has made taking the train a no brainer for me. We all do some form of those calculations every time. As a kid and student, I would ask should I spend the 15 or 20 cents I was given as carfare and walk or buy a soda or candy.

Another calculation is time. For example, is it better for an attorney to take Brightline from Fort Lauderdale to Miami or drive? By using the train, he or she can work while going from one place to the other.

The real question for Martin County residents is whether having a station gives us more reason to use the train over driving? The answer is yes it does. From my house, I can walk to where the proposed station is located. If I can get a ride or take an Uber because I have a suitcase, it would still be faster and cheaper than parking my car for a week at Miami or Orlando airports.

Would there be enough people using the train at every station to keep the company in business? I don’t know the answer. Much has to do with the cost of gas, the price of cars, and how reluctant we are to give up our supposed freedom of using our cars by becoming rail passengers.

If Stuart and Martin County build the station and parking garage with grants as the governments believe, we will be in a good position regardless of private rail’s feasibility. Once passenger rail is introduced, the Feds would step in and subsidize. It is what they have done for over a hundred years.

I hope we are far enough along in our development not to need those subsidies. The car culture has killed the life of cities. Parking for the automobile has hurt connectivity, the way a city looks, and our cohesive development. We may finally be ready to embrace a different form of transit.