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.

We Try...We Build...We Ride

An attempt at Suburban - Urban rail is being made in Central Florida. About hundred years after car companies and their dummy corporations removed Light Rail systems from the state. Central Florida has once again looked back to trains to facilitate a growing population. It's intent is noble, if a bit arrogant, and it's possibilities are enormous, yet limited by it's budget.
It was the source of derision by some, a curiosity by others, and a source of hope for hundreds of thousands of commuters tired of having only one option to travel in their traffic addled city.

Sunrail began in the late 1990's, when FDOT sponsored local schools, and entertained ideas on the way the area would change in the coming decade. As a child I visited family in New York, and was amazed out how people there were able to live and work and play, without ever seeing a car. As a Floridian, this puzzled me. Friends told me, "Florida will never have that sort of system," or "Florida doesn't need trains". Yet the question remained, why did it work so well up there, and why wouldn't it work here?

Years later, I heard about Sunrail. Unlike the vast majority of Central Floridian's, I followed the development month after month. I watched silently, wondering, if it would ever come to pass. Back and forth it went, legal battle after jurisdictional struggle. Through two governors, contentious elections, and adversarial lobbying groups, the train kept coming.

Now it's a few months away, and the time has come for the reality, and with it the inspiration of this blog.

This blog will be about one commuters journey with Sunrail, documenting what works, what fails, and hopefully what it all means.

-I'll do this through pictures, light news posts, and personal experiences.


-I'll also delve into the historical, and personal aspects of mass transit.

-This blog is about the future, about where we go from here, and whether or not we really are ready.

-JayT