Tri-Rail, the publicly funded commuter rail service connecting Miami International Airport and West Palm Beach, continues to see ridership growth, but faces increasing funding pressures.
The service now averages 15,000 riders daily, according to the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
Increase in ridership
Annual ridership has risen from 4.2 million a decade ago to 4.5 million currently.
Tri-Rail has expanded its services and connector options and a 340-unit apartment building with retail space is under construction at the Boca Raton station, a venture expected to generate revenue for the rail line.
CBS Miami spoke to Michael Medina on Friday as he caught a train headed to Miami. The round-trip fare was a reasonable $12.
“Usually when I’m going to Miami to meet friends, I take Tri-Rail,” Medina said. “Down there, parking is a nightmare.”
Officials attribute the ridership increase to traffic congestion on Interstate 95 and parking challenges in South Florida.
Increased funding needed
Tri-Rail operates 54 trains on weekdays with one-way fares ranging from $3.50 to $8.50. Weekend fares are a flat $5.
“Everyone who’s taken it to the airport will never go another way,” said David Dech, executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail.
Dech said with rising costs from equipment to labor and COVID money running out, beginning next year, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties all have to significantly increase their funding and pay $10 million a year to subsidize ridership.
That’s $6 million more than now and some county leaders have expressed concern about the affordability.
Dech said they have begun the conversation with the counties and it’s a process. It won’t happen until the middle of next year, but if the money isn’t found, the service will have to be reduced.
No one wants to see that happen, especially Michael Medina, who relies on Tri-Rail to get him where he needs to go.
“It would be bad, especially for people who don’t have a vehicle,” Medina said.
