FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Faced with drastically cutting service this fall and possibly shutting down for good in two years,
Tri-Rail is in survival mode.
It comes down to this: Officials say they have one last shot this week at persuading state legislators to prop up the financially troubled commuter train for another year.
Legislators will return to Tallahassee at the end of the week in an extended session for a final vote on the budget. So far, no money has been allocated for Tri-Rail, which carries about 14,700 passengers on weekdays on its 72-mile line between Miami and Mangonia Park.
A new plan, called for on Sunday, would raid funds allocated for the controversial SunRail commuter rail project in Central Florida that was killed by the Legislature on Friday.
A proposal for a $2 rental car tax dedicated to Tri-Rail also died Friday, the final day of the regular session.
The rental car tax and SunRail were linked together in the same bill that many senators refused to support because of the cost and an insurance policy that put too much risk on the state and taxpayers.
"Lawmakers made it clear that they weren't out to sink Tri-Rail," said Joseph Giulietti, Tri-Rail's executive director. "They just didn't like the Central Florida rail project."
The threatened service cuts come at a time when Tri-Rail has broken numerous ridership records, putting it among the nation's fastest growing commuter trains. Even as gasoline prices have dipped, the majority of passengers who flocked to the train when prices spiked to more than $4 a gallon last summer have continued riding.
"I do not want to have to drive from Boca [Raton] to Fort Lauderdale again," said Laurie Stevenson, a paralegal who rides the train four days a week. "I don't need the miles and wear and tear on my car, the gas prices and the aggravation of the traffic."
On Sunday, seven Florida state senators, including SunRail foe Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, sent a letter to Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach; Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala; and Gov.Charlie Crist, urging them to redirect $30 million to Tri-Rail for the next budget year.
At the same time, legislators in Central Florida are scrambling to make sure money that would have gone to SunRail isn't shifted to other uses like Tri-Rail.
The seven senators wrote that state intervention is the only possible solution for Tri-Rail, and the Legislature's failure to fund Tri-Rail "has led to a crisis that threatens thousands of jobs and the futures of families who depend on Tri-Rail on a daily basis."
The letter was signed by Dockery; Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres; Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton; Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach; Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood; Sen.Alex Villalobos, R-Miami; and Sen. Fredericka Wilson, D-Miami.
"We intend to work together to establish a dedicated funding source for Tri-Rail's future. But to achieve that future, we must assure that Tri-Rail can sustain its operations into the next legislative session," the senators said.
If funding for Tri-Rail isn't approved, Tri-Rail will slash the number of weekday trains from 50 to 30 on Oct. 5, the start of the next budget year. All weekend and holiday service will be eliminated.
Under that scenario, Giulietti said Tri-Rail can survive another 18 months. If no funding is found, all Tri-Rail service would end.
No matter what happens in Tallahassee, Tri-Rail fares will go up 25 percent on June 1, the first increase since 1995.
Tri-Rail officials say they had no choice to raise fares to cover thetrain's operating costs and to offset expected reductions in funding from the three counties this fall. But higher fares don't come close to shoring up Tri-Rail's operating budget.
Tri-Rail recovers about 18 cents of every dollar it spends on annual operating costs. Even with the increase, that is only expected to climb to 21 cents and still below the national average of 25 cents.
Reported by
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
