Sunrail is a 27.2 million dollar flop (Orlando, Cleveland: 2015, construction, prices)

[tworent]

A lot of people on here said how great it will be and it will make money. I said from the start it would lose money like every other rail system it is now time to close it down and cut your losses like any bad investment.

SunRail finishes first year $27.2 million in the red - Orlando Sentinel

[jambo101]

Yeah i remember all the cheerleaders telling us how it would be a major success.
I never doubted for a moment that enough people would give up their cars to make this a successful venture,it was a total waste of money and doomed to failure from the get go.

[tworent]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Yeah i remember all the cheerleaders telling us how it would be a major success.
I never doubted for a moment that enough people would give up their cars to make this a successful venture,it was a total waste of money and doomed to failure from the get go.

[WithDisp]

That's under 20% farebox recovery. We now have a point to compare it with.

Make's it worse than TriRail.

Slightly better than some of the newest Metros put in across the Southern US.
I believe the moral of the story may be that cities not designed for transit are not best suited to have it.

[Fl1150]

Really ? I'm tired of people wishing the downfall the US cities with dislike of anything Urban but yet we don't here you complaining about the billions of dollars of wasted road construction to nowhere.

[Crane's Rooster]

I dont believe any toll roads make money either. Since when was the govt in the business of making a profit on public transit.

[TS808]

When gas prices go up to $4, $5, $6, $7, or $8/gal like most of the world pays, the rail cars will be booming.

$2.50/gal is dirt cheap and the economy is doing great so this is not the time to judge alternative transportation systems.


Even if SunRail only loses a little, at least Orlando will now have a CHANCE at meeting the demands of predicted population growth.

The state needs more rail and they need it 20 years ago.

[jambo101]

I got no problem with ventures like Sunrail but you have to have a substantial public transit system in place before a Sunrail system becomes feasible, In this case having to drive your car to a station then having to deal with a dubious or non existant public transit system at the end of the train ride then doing the same thing after work just wasnt an attractive option for enough commuters to dump their cars in favor of this commuter line.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I got no problem with ventures like Sunrail but you have to have a substantial public transit system in place before a Sunrail system becomes feasible, In this case having to drive your car to a station then having to deal with a dubious or non existant public transit system at the end of the train ride then doing the same thing after work just wasnt an attractive option for enough commuters to dump their cars in favor of this commuter line.

Exactly...and why a system like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) while not as glamorous as rail, is best suited for areas without concentric development like Orlando where the economic centers are scattered everywhere. It allows for expansion and to make adjustments where necessary versus millions on the current model that isn't useful for 90% of the population plus doesn't run nights and weekends...what a joke.

About the HealthLine | Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

[WithDisp]

Originally Posted by TS808

When gas prices go up to $4, $5, $6, $7, or $8/gal like most of the world pays, the rail cars will be booming.

$2.50/gal is dirt cheap and the economy is doing great so this is not the time to judge alternative transportation systems.


Even if SunRail only loses a little, at least Orlando will now have a CHANCE at meeting the demands of predicted population growth.

The state needs more rail and they need it 20 years ago.

At this point and time we cannot completely dismiss a world where Electric (and especially Solar) energy may fuel more and more cars actually bringing gas efficiency to a better place.

Even then, if gas DID shoot up to $6 a gallon- SunRail's rise would be limited, as the places it goes are very limiting.