"Faced with a looming cash shortfall, the governing authority of Tri-Rail, South Florida's subsidized commuter line, voted Friday to end a ride-partner program with Uber, Lyft and other taxi services, and directed the railroad to explore replacing its complex ticket scheme with flat fares. Both moves would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. But the change in Tri-Rail's long-standing zoned fare system is contingent on a study to be conducted by staff between now and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority's next board meeting on Dec. 12."
"The ride program became a target for extinction in August when it was first brought up at a board meeting. It also came after Tri-Rail's executive director, David Dech, sounded a general warning last spring that the three-county railroad could run out of cash by 2027 after the Florida Department of Transportation slashed millions from its annual subsidy for the rail line's operations."
"After the Legislature passed the state budget in July, the authority was notified by FDOT that it would receive only $15 million, not an anticipated $42.1 million. Moreover, lawmakers in the three counties served by Tri-Rail - Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade - have raised serious concerns about their ability to increase their respective contributions of more than $4 million because of their own budget constraints."
Tri-Rail’s governing authority voted to end its ride-partner program with Uber, Lyft and taxi services, and directed the railroad to explore replacing its zoned fare system with flat fares. Both changes are slated to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, with the fare system change contingent on a staff study to be completed before the board meeting on Dec. 12. The ride-share program was targeted after warnings that the railroad could run out of cash by 2027 following deep reductions in FDOT's subsidy. FDOT reduced its expected subsidy from $42.1 million to $15 million. County governments face budget constraints and questioned their ability to increase contributions to Tri-Rail.
Read at Sun Sentinel
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]