Brightline report highlights ridership, revenue growth

Last month, Florida passenger-rail company Brightline logged an 87% increase in ridership and a 205% increase in ticket revenue compared with December 2021 figures, according to a recent financial report.

Excluding special event trains, ridership rose 70% in December. The ridership growth was driven in part by new stations in Boca Raton and Aventura, which opened Dec. 21 and Dec. 24, 2022, respectively. Those stations are expected to be “strong contributors to ridership growth throughout 2023,” the company’s financial report stated.

Rides by monthly pass holders climbed 107% in December, demonstrating a trend toward normal commuting patterns for an increasing share of Brightline’s market, according to the report. In November 2022, the company raised the price of a monthly pass by 15%.

For all of 2022, the railroad transported 1,230,494 riders, up from 159,474 in 2021. Last year was the company's first full year of operation since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.

Currently, Brightline provides rail service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Construction on its planned extension from West Palm Beach to Orlando is about 90% complete, with two of four construction zones substantially completed and nine of the planned 10 trainsets already delivered. The final trainset is expected to be delivered later this month.

The report also stated that Brightline’s planned extension to Tampa in Hillsborough County is expected to include stops at the Orange County Convention Center and South International Drive and connect to an expanded SunRail commuter system. Those stops would provide access to Central Florida business destinations and major theme parks and resorts.