If it were easy...

It wouldn't be worth it....

Let's face it, commuter rail isn't easy. It's always a difficult sell in the first few years, and the cost of rail can be pretty daunting. Recently several negative incidents have started to create a few rough waves in the future of Sunrail. Are these legitimate problems, or the same old harping and cheapshots that any public works project runs into?

It depends...

1. Not enough ridership...

Currently just over 2000 people a day are using Sunrail on average. The low ridership has caused some to feel that rail might not work in this area, the ease of access to I-4 they argue, and the car culture is so deeply ingrained so as to make rail projects of any size problematic at best. These critics have a point, but it's not as simple as their arguments make it seem. Many things affect ridership, station location, and pricing, economy etc... 

Solution? Time... and advertising.

ALL ABOARD!

Sunrail is still less then a year old since operations began, judging long term growth on less then a year is shortsighted, and doesn't allow for changes in peoples travel dynamics. Also advertising is minimal. There have been almost no commercials run for Sunrail save the odd negative news story (accidents, train delays, ticket problems. more on this later) With more/better advertising, and patience with a fledgling service, ridership can and will increase.


2. No weekend/night service...

Want to do a pub crawl on Saturday night? No such luck... how bout come home late from a club, or Concert? Nope.

This is a legitimate problem, as Sunrail was meant initially for day workers, not for events and partying. This was a strategic blunder. Travel should be for everybody, not just 9-5 folks.

Solution? ... We'll have to wait and see if demand and ridership are enough to expand train service.... They have begun to change, adding trains for special occasions, and free service to special events, but these have thier own problems (not enough trains, overcrowding, bad scheduling). 

3. Stations not close enough to urban/suburban areas. 

Deland's planned station is under fire for not being close enough to downtown. Sanford and Debary are also at issue. Lack of population density worries those who believe ridership from these stops are too low.

Solution? Relocate the Deland station closer to the city. Patience with the other stops.

Deland has several tracks that could be utilized to bring a station closer to the city. One set of tracks even ends close to Stetson University. Planners need to be flexible, and adjust to local concerns. Sunrail cannot be tunnel visioned, and moving station closer to downtown while expensive would go a long way to show the commitment of Sunrail, FDOT and the various controlling entities to make the system work. The other stops are already built and already construction on apartments has begun near them, so additional potential riders are coming.
 
4. Bad press...

Sunrail hits car! Sunrail Train delayed! New Sunrail link won't be built!?

This is the worst. Wether by design or accident, the Sunrail system has been consistently getting bad press. First off, there doesn't appear to be any spokesperson to represent Sunrail for people to turn to when things go wrong. "Sunrail officials say" is the only refrain when people hear in response. 

We'll be changing things as of today...

Solution? There needs to be a more visible and vocal pushback from Sunrail, a better public face to calm fears and squash rumors. An articulate spokesperson, and straight forward facts will go a long way to improve the image of Sunrail.It doesn't matter how quickly you move to fix and correct a problem, if there is no one telling the public directly whats being done, and apologizing for the mistake in the first place. Perception is 90% of the reality in these high-stakes times of social media.


Final judgment-
Sunrail has a lot of growing to do. It will take patience, political will and commitment to public transportation that will make Sunrail success. Lack of any of these in sufficient amounts will lead to Sunrail being a bust. But if it's flexible and willing to adjust to the needs of the community, Sunrail will be a success.

What to Say When You Hear the Naysayers....

The nattering nay bobs of negativity can be a real downer. Thankfully these people represent a very small fraction of the people who generally like the idea of mass transit. It reminds me of those guys who railed against an expansion of the federal highway system, or the same people that said that the internet would never catch on. So how to reply to them when they spout off about how bad the train is/will be?

Sunrail has it's fair share of these guys...

"With the exception of a few hippies who can ride their bicycles (LOL) to their low-income jobs, no one will use this colossal waste of money." - Professional Naysayer

Trains as whole aren't about making money. Rather they bring economic development and mobility to urban and suburban areas. They facilitate growth, and help to create more sustainable development over the long term. They reduce traffic, and give job opportunities to a wider array of workers. They get the people to where the jobs and activities are.

Sunrail is here, and its about to open some huge economic opportunities to everyone democrats, republicans, and independents alike. If you're in the engineering, construction, real estate, marketing, or advertising fields, you're about to see a real boost to you're business if you're anywhere near one of the stations.

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/blog/2014/03/785m-worth-of-construction-underway-near-sunrail.html

Hippies aren't the only ones who ride bikes. It's a healthy lifestyle especially as you get older, and Florida has one of the best environments for biking in the country. Besides that there will be other options than just bikes. Ride shares, Buses, Corporate Vans, Taxi's, pedicabs and of course walking, are all on the table as options for people looking to get where they need to go as I've covered previously.

Welcome to the I-4 Warzone...

The rail was designed and built for hard working people. These people didn't have any real options before, and now they do.

This train is big business... and if you do any research you learn just how many developments this project is bringing to Central Florida. So, let the naysayers yell insults and barbs from their cars jammed on I-4 in LA style traffic jams during rush hour come January 2015.
http://www.moving-4-ward.com/about-the-project/project-location/

You won't be able to hear them as you cruise to work on a clean, well maintained, smooth ride. Your car will still be waiting for you on the weekends, and it'll have less wear and tear from a daily commute, saving both gas and maintenance costs.

One more note: you can be confident in Sunrail's staying power not just because of past success of similar rail systems, but also because this project is fully funded by FDOT for the next 7 years no matter what the naysayers say.

Still have questions?

There are still a few questions that people have about what to expect with Sunrail. Here is a nice little montage of what to expect in a recent Bizjournal article.

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/gallery/12461?r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bizjournals.com%2Forlando%2Fblog%2F2014%2F03%2F7-things-to-expect-when-riding-sunrail.html