Brightline saw big gains in its business during the first three months of the year.
Ticket revenue for the privately-owned passenger train service more than tripled in the first quarter compared to a year earlier. Brightline collected almost $40 million in ticket fares to begin this year, according to its unaudited financial statement for the first quarter.
Brightline started running its long distance service in September and those additional paying passengers were responsible for the company’s big jump in ticket revenue. If it weren’t for the passengers and fares between South Florida and Orlando, sales and ridership would have dropped.
The increase in revenue did not translate into a profit, though.
Brightline’s operating expenses more than doubled, mostly because of its long-distance service to and from Orlando. It cost $23 million more to run Brightline’s trains in the first quarter than it brought in in ticket sales and other revenue. It also saw its interest expenses increase. Taken together, Brightline saw its quarterly losses more than double from last year to $116 million of red ink.
In June, Brightline significantly increased the cost of a popular fare package for South Florida riders. Passengers had been able to buy 40 one-way tickets for $400. Brightline changed its package to 10 rides for $350 — a 250% increase in the cost per ride.
"Brightline is a private company. They're running a private service," said Javier Betancourt, executive director of the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust, the agency overseeing the half-penny sales tax collected in Miami-Dade County for public transportation. "Obviously, they're in the profit-making business and they have to set fares that they believe will meet those objectives."
Some routes are cheaper, but the price of all of the multi-ride options were increased on June 1.
READ MORE: Tri-Rail expands to connect thousands of South Florida passengers to downtown Miami
Brightline is still courting commuters. On its webpage for it's multi-ride ticket packages, Brightline offers a frequently asked questions section. The first question is, "How can I take Brightline to commute to work?"
"It's always been meant from the very beginning as intrastate passenger rail. It wasn't meant to be a day to day transit service for everyday workers," Betacourt said.
That’s how Brightline dismissed criticism about its June fare hike for multi-ride tickets.
Now, it has shifted its marketing and pricing efforts toward the long distance rider.
Ridership and revenue has continued growing in April and May, according to the company’s monthly passenger reports. The data is compared to a year ago when Brightline trains were only running between Miami and West Palm Beach. That shorter distance service provides a lower basis for average ticket fares and passenger counts.
It sent an email this week promoting sing-along trains from Orlando to Aventura in October to what it called "The Big Concert at Hard Rock Stadium.” The sing-along train schedule matches Taylor Swift’s three night tour stop in Miami Gardens.
Building commuter demand
Brightline launched its initial service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in 2018. Other stations in Aventura and Boca Raton have been added with some public dollars. Then it finished its $6 billion expansion to Orlando last fall.
"What they have done in the interim is proven the concept that people are desperate for a more day-to-day commuter rail option," Betancourt said.
Betancourt and the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust have been pushing for commuter rail in northeastern Miami-Dade County. The plan runs from Miami Central to Aventura with five stops in between, including Wynwood, the Design District and Little Haiti.
"It's going to be what we'll call a lower cost service," said Betancourt. "You're not going to be riding in these very glitzy, beautiful leather appointed trains. It's going to be more akin to TriRail or other similar types of commuter rail in the country. And that's okay. We just need to get people to and from work and their destination."
The ultimate operator of any service, should it be launched, has not been decided. But the project is on track.
"We expect to have the acceptance to enter into engineering in August 2024," Miami-Dade Transportation Deputy Director Josiel Ferrer-Diaz told the Citizen’s Independent Transportation Trust board in early June.
Federal funding covering about half of the project is included in President Joe Biden’s proposed budget that still needs Congressional approval. The state would pick up 20%. The rest — about $170 million — would come out of the half penny county sales tax.
Betancourt was confident in the road ahead when WLRN spoke with him in May.
"I think we're very close to making it happen. I'm very optimistic," he said.
Negotiations continue with Brightline over using its tracks for the commuter service as it courts more passengers between South Florida and Orlando.
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