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 sold 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 presents short-distance sales on rush hour trains.
Safety-oriented ticket promotion
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 2,000 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.
Longer distance = More profit