MIAMI — Recent ridership and revenue trends reveal that Brightline’s South Florida operation has settled into a consistent month-to-month pattern, with full-route travelers occupying seats vacated by West Palm Beach-Miami clientele at substantially higher prices.
The information is contained in the recently released Florida Development Corp. “Preliminary Limited Remarketing Memorandum” announcing the availability of $985 million in private activity bonds.
Monthly data from the first full month of Miami-Orlando operation in 2023 shows that the company has been averaging about 230,000 riders during each reporting period. The percentage of long-distance patrons on the 16 daily round trips, compared with Miami-West Palm passengers, has flipped from the early months of the extension to Orlando last year. Results don’t reflect the full effect of Brightline’s decision to withdraw what amounted to $20-per-ride commuter passes; their availability ended on June 30 [see “Brightline drops monthly passes …,” Trains News Wire, May 13, 2024].
Pricing and operating strategy
Until new coaches arrive from Siemens, Brightline is generally sticking to its hourly departure, fixed-consist formula of three “Smart” coaches and one “Premium” car on each train. However, in a bid to capture peak-hour demand without raising prices beyond what the majority of potential customers might be prepared to pay, Brightline has slipped in an extra Friday afternoon rush-hour trip from MiamiCentral to Orlando departing 15 minutes after the regular 4:50 p.m. train.
Full-route, weeks-in-advance fares hover in the $79 Smart and $119 Premium range but are periodically sale-discounted at 40% to 50%, utilizing a near-daily stream of “reasons to book” emails to previous passengers. Doing so is a way of testing the Miami-Orlando market’s elasticity of demand: can travelers be induced to ride at a lower price point? There are other regular discounts, such as 25% off for parties of 3 or more. Just Thursday, the company announced a “Twilight Trains” promotion for Monday-through-Thursday trips departing after 6 p.m. between Aug. 19-29. Tickets start at $29.
As trains fill up close to departure, fares are manipulated to reflect sellout. This week, for instance, the Miami to Orlando range was $44 to $99 on Thursday, rising to $89 to $129 on Friday. The range doesn’t include some trips arriving post-midnight at Orlando International Airport pegged at $39.50 where “adults ride at kids prices,” or $29 off-peak bargains in the other direction.
With sharply discounted South Florida fares no longer offered and competing Tri-Rail now offering a faster, cheaper commuting alternative to MiamiCentral [see “Tri-Rail to launch …,” News Wire, June 1, 2024], Brightline only rarely blocks short-distance ticketing on rush-hour trains.
Safety-oriented ticket promotion
However, those sale prohibitions are in place for special premium-priced “Sing Along Trains” running October 18-20. The 12:50 p.m and 1:50 p.m. Orlando departures those days will take fans to three Taylor Swift Hard Rock Stadium Miami concerts, accessed via dedicated shuttles from the Aventura station. One-way Smart fares for those departures are $209 and Premium prices $309 all three days. A special return train — presumably two trainsets — leaves Aventura at 12:30 a.m. after the concert, arriving in Orlando at 3:41 a.m. [See “Brightline to offer Taylor Swift sing-along trains,” News Wire, July 9, 2024.]
Additionally, this week Brightline announced that it is giving away two tickets, complimentary beverages, and round-trip transportation to the Sunday finale on Oct. 20 in a “Big Concert Sweepstakes.”
Anyone who enters must first take the company’s “Rail Safety Pledge,” a nine-point guide of “do’s and don’ts” around railroad tracks and trains. Since the promotion was unveiled Tuesday, more than 12,000 people have signed the pledge, according to a “pledge counter” on the website.
Brightline says entries will be accepted until Sept. 20; the winner will be announced “in honor of ‘See Tracks? Think Train! Week,’” the national Operation Lifesaver event that begins Monday, Sept. 23.
— Updated at 10:15 a.m. to reflect revised sweepstates pledge total.
Nice to see a pilot taking the train.
This photo was used previously. The pilot was interviewed and was deadheading from MIA to MCO for a flight to pilot.
Florida has two seasons: Tourist and Hurricane. Tourist season is typically October to April. So to see higher ridership MCO to SoFlo outside of Tourist season especially so soon after launch is heartening.
Florida summer tourism has been steadily picking up over the years. It’s also the time that Florida residents do most of their traveling and vacations, much of it instate.
And our population continues to grow, now past the 23M mark.
What is the status of the Tampa extension? It would be interesting to see how many travel to Miami via Orlando.
This has been hijacked by the Orange County fathers with more gold plating than anything found at Tiffany’s. If this goes through, and that’s a HUGE IF, judging by the demographic of those reading this most of us will be pushing up daisies before it happens.
Brightline won the bid to use the I-4 corridor and was working on a station plan with the City of Tampa. I think there was some squabbling with the city on exactly where it should be. Miami was easy becuase they already owned the land for Miami Central, in this case Brightline doesn’t.
The “hijacking” being spoken of is the issue of the Brightline route out of MCO and down I-4.
There were several constituencies at play trying to sway the line their way. The ice was finally broken when a few things occurred.
1: Disney said no thanks for a station on Disney property. So it will be built on the Kissimmee side of I-4 across from the Disney property. Disney will then bus them over (go figure). Technically Disney would prefer to pick you up at MCO and keep you in their property.
2: Universal Theme Parks is building the new Epic Universe right behind the Orange County Convention Center. And they own Sea World on the other side of the Convention Center, they put their money where their mouth is and are donating a part of their land to build a new train station.
3: The I-Drive (International Drive) Association has been trying for many, many years to get better connectivity to and from their district due to the high number of hotels (most owned by the Rosen’s) , restaurants and attractions, like the Orlando Eye. They are putting up some hard cash to help pay for the Brightline route to pass through (the new station will be at/near I-Drive).
So until Brightline could get all of these parties to agree AND put up some hard cash and real estate to back it up in writing, it slowed things down.
Also as part of the deal, SunRail is going to get access to MCO, how I am not sure, probably via the new station south of the terminal now used by Brightline.
All that being said, the Brightline route from the airport to I-4 will be complex and will probably take more time than the median route.
It may be 2040 before anyone sees a working service.
All true. Further, many of the old “ghosts” that haunted the last gasps of Florida HSR are now stirring again intent on getting their agenda inserted into all this.
Longer distance = More profit
More REVENUE for sure, didn’t see EXPENSES…