MIAMI — Brightline’s new stations in Boca Raton and Aventura continue to be a boon to ridership.
Miami Today reports the two stations, which opened in late December, contributed 27% of the passenger carrier’s total ridership in January, according to Brightline’s monthly ridership and revenue report. The two handled 42,391 of the 157,137 total riders; the ridership report called those numbers “encouraging” and said the company believes “the new stations will contribute substantial incremental annual passengers and revenue upon stabilization.”
The Aventura station is just 17 minutes from downtown Miami. Discounted tickets to Brightline’s MiamiCentral station are offered online or through Brightline’s smartphone app under an agreement with Miami-Dade Transit, with monthly commuter passes available at the Aventura station guest services desk.
This sounds like a similiar situation in New York City trying to do promotional opportunities with the MTA which is a tough sell. The MTA also is very particular and some very tough and exclusive regulations regarding use of their logo and trademark and if you are lucky enough to get throug to them and get an agreement or contract The MTa charges extremely expensive fees and has draconian rules for the right to work with them. Back in the 1980s when Bachmann came out with an HO scale model of the SEPTA PCC car, SEPTA had their lawyers and legal department threaten Bachmann if they didn’t stop making those models with the SEPTA logo and the red white and blue colors . Only if Bachmann agreed to SEPTA’s terms and conditions which were draconian and unreasonable could they continue to make the SEPTA PCC HO scale model. The results were that Bachmann disconinued making that model and the remainig cars were made in the design of the old PTC traction company. To this day the SEPTA PCC HO model made by Bachmann is extremely rare and hard to find anywhere. Some transit companies and operating authorities can be really difficult if not impossible to work with to get those licenses and agreements to market merchandise and pomotional items
Joseph C. Markfelder
Can’t wait for Orlando service. I live in C FL. I rode it Miami/W. Palm several times. Beautiful. Ironic the Brightline Siemans cars seem very good, Amtrak has problems. Amtrak is disfunctional.
One more thing Brightline can do and it provides additional revenue . That is to enter into agreements with companies to market and sell merchandise with the Brightline logo like tee shirts, sweatshirts and baseball caps and collectibles such as other railroads have their logo and trademarks on merchandise. And for the model railroaders such as myself out there, Brightline can also sign agreements and authorize manufacturers like Kato and Bachmann to make models of these trainsets both the Florida ones and the ones that will be operating on Brightline West in HO and N scale. What model railroader wouldn’t want a model or two of these trains operating on their model layout. I believe that many of the folks who contribute to this space are both railfans and model railroaders and follow, study and watch the prototype to model and enhance their miniture rail empires. It would be great to see models in both HO and N scale of the Brightline trains manufactured and operating on many a model railroad
Joseph C. Markfelder
Joseph, I have asked Brad at Ringaboy, who does railroad themed clothing and has a license to use FEC logos and marks if there is a similar arrangement available for Brightline.
The feedback was that Brightline doesn’t respond to those types of requests. This seems consistent as I have tried to contact their PR department about some public relations activities pre-covid and they never responded.
For a company that is so particular about the quality of their stations and car interiors, it is interesting who they choose to filter.