Sunrail ridership down, Looks like an Epic Fail (Tampa, Orlando: 2014, live)

[spidac]

I knew this would not work out in Orlando, too many people in this area have grown accustomed to automobiles and other means of transportation for a project like Sunrail to prosper.

Thursday Morning Political Headlines: Sunrail ridership falling | The Orlando Political Observer

[Fl1150]

Well with this All aboard Florida project Rick Scott is all of sudden supporting how do you believe that is going to work out. He quickly rejected high speed rail money from the government but only is supporting this project because it is private an they would probably contribute to his campaign.

[kyle19125]

I didn't take a whole lot to figure out that SunRail would bomb given the decentralized infrastructure of the Orlando metro area. We don't have a traditional metro in that a majority of commuters come from outlying suburbs to one or two different business districts and Fixed-Route Mass Transit systems are setup for that type of city. Bus Rapid Transit would have been a far better system allowing for the many variables we have for workplace commutes and allow flexibility for change as needed. Perhaps they can start marketing it as a ride for the kiddies on the weekends, which seems to account for a good chunk of business as it is already.

[deadparts]

Maybe if it ran on the weekend, until midnight (at least) and had connecting lines running east/west it would actually be useful for more than 2% of the population.

[EditorJul]

Or for a different view:

SunRail ridership numbers decline - Orlando Sentinel

August was one of the best months in DC for riding Metro because there were a LOT less people on it -- between vacations and Congresscritters being out of town, it was like a holiday every day.

[annerk]

As I said...

They spent a huge amount of cash for a project that benefited very few, and those who did benefit quickly bored with the novelty.

[EditorJul]

The big challenge is that special interests decide where it will *not* go. You've got Mears opposed to running it from MCO to Disney or to the Convention Center district because they lose out of fares. You have Disney opposed running to from their parks to Universal or Sea World, because that allows tourists to visit other sites. You've got MCO opposed to running it from Tampa to the Orlando area because people might fly into Tampa for cheaper fares.

I'd gladly use Sunrail, except that the nearest station to me is about a 35 minute drive away.

[jadidonato]

You are crazy. SunRail is great. Central Floridians just need to get used to it and use it more. "If you build it they will come" is true... I try and use it daily but the times are not the best yet. Last southbound AM train from Lake Mary is 8:13AM, if they had one more 30 min later (their current time spacing) I would never miss it.

I-4 sucks - took me 1.5 hrs one day this week to get from Lake Mary to downtown. Really wish I woke up earlier to catch the train that day!

BTW - all the problems that people emphasize are not really issues they just come with the territory of running a commuter train. Check out commuter rails in the NE corridor you'll see all the same issues, but worse. So SunRail is excellent by those standards. (except hours of operation...)

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by jadidonato

You are crazy. SunRail is great. Central Floridians just need to get used to it and use it more. "If you build it they will come" is true... I try and use it daily but the times are not the best yet. Last southbound AM train from Lake Mary is 8:13AM, if they had one more 30 min later (their current time spacing) I would never miss it.

I-4 sucks - took me 1.5 hrs one day this week to get from Lake Mary to downtown. Really wish I woke up earlier to catch the train that day!

BTW - all the problems that people emphasize are not really issues they just come with the territory of running a commuter train. Check out commuter rails in the NE corridor you'll see all the same issues, but worse. So SunRail is excellent by those standards. (except hours of operation...)

Apparently most didn't get the memo that building it was sufficient reason to use Sunrail, due to the fact a vast majority cannot use it due to geographic or time restrictions. The issues mentioned aren't mirrored in the Northeast Corridor since all of those areas feature population size and density that lives/works in locations conducive to a successful commuter rail service, and the fact that you're drawing any comparisons between Central Florida and the Northeast Corridor suggests any lack of knowledge of the many differences.

[adamosgp]

It's one month (the first one with ridership decline). It was a month where there were a few days in which service had to be delayed or cancelled due to train crashes (Not SunRail) that took up the railways.
If this becomes a trend, then I'd worry.

They do need to switch up hours. Make them longer on weekdays to start, then we can talk about weekends.