You'll never believe what happened to #SaturdaySunRail ridership

#SaturdaySunrail was going reasonably well until this past Saturday.

On the first Saturday (Nov. 5^th) the ridership was 3,225.

On the second Saturday (Nov. 12^th) the ridership was 3,452.

It was reasonable to expect that the ridership trend would continue to climb. 

That’s reasonable, but this is SunRail.

This past Saturday (Nov. 19^th) the ridership was 2,100.

What the heck happened?

The #SaturdaySunRail ridership collapse is the result of a communications and operations failure by SunRail and Team SunRail – the public-private partnership bankrolling the occasional Saturday train.

We think most of the blame belongs on the shoulders of Team SunRail because it’s their party.

Ever since #SaturdaySunRail was postponed in October we learned they have difficulty telling the public in advance about which Saturdays the train service would be offered.

People keep asking us why SunRail/Team SunRail can’t post an advance schedule so people can plan ahead. Seems like a reasonable question and expectation.

The FDOT officials who run SunRail said that part of the challenge is that there is certain track maintenance work they must do on the weekends. Then the other complication is that the train is only provided on weekends when Team SunRail wants to provide service.

Still it is possible to coordinate this.

We’ve been finding out only a few days before the train service will be offered on a particular Saturday. That make it difficult to share timely information with prospective riders.

Clearly this is no way to run a railroad.

This past week proved to be a cluster. 

Last Wednesday FDOT officially announced SunRail would be offering train service on Nov. 19 – three days later – to support the Florida Classic collegiate football game at Camping World Stadium.

Communicators at Florida Citrus Sports and the two universities playing in the game didn’t seem to know anything about the train service until SunRailRiders contacted them. We provided them with #SaturdaySunRail information. (We don’t work for FDOT, SunRail or Team SunRail.)

Communicators professionals (which we are when we’re not blogging about SunRail) will tell you there should have been a coordinated communications plan so that all the stakeholders knew what was happening and could share pertinent details with their audiences.

With proper communication the #SaturdaySunRail ridership could have been doubled. Instead last Saturday’s ridership looks like a failure. It’s not. People can’t ride if they don’t what’s going on.

One piece of good news -- if you can call it that -- is that SunRail already announced that it won’t be running this coming Saturday – Nov. 26. That’s a start because people need to know in advance what’s happening.

Hopefully SunRail and Team SunRail will use this time to get their act together.

Don't expect much from #SaturdaySunRail

By now you know that #SaturdaySunRail is scheduled to operate on Nov. 5^th.

Like you, we’re gun shy after the first attempt at #SaturdaySunRail got blown away by Hurricane Matthew on Oct. 8th. Then we learned that there wouldn’t be Saturday service for a month.

Despite the disappointment, we strongly urge all Central Floridians to take advantage SunRail on Nov. 5^th. SunRail’s long-term survival depends on ridership – lots of it.

To avoid the frustration expressed by so many after officials admitted that despite earlier statements SunRail service would NOT be offered on “most Saturdays” we want to set expectations low.

#SaturdaySunRail is funded by Team SunRail – a public-private partnership – not the Florida Department of Transportation which operates the train. The Saturday train is being provided to benefit large-scale events – mostly in downtown Orlando.

The most important advice we can offer riders and would-be riders is pay close attention to the Nov. 5^th schedule (for arrivals and departures) because the Saturday train does not run like the New York subway, or weekday SunRail.

For example, we know people want to ride SunRail to Winter Park’s fantastic farmers’ market. Forget it. On Nov.5^th SunRail won’t make its first stop in Winter Park until 2:36 p.m. The farmer’s market closes at 1 p.m.

Still, it’s not as though Winter Park rolls up the sidewalk after the farmers’ market. We can think of countless things to do Saturday afternoon and evening around Park Avenue. In addition to Winter Park, there are many other places to visit – eat, drink and have fun -- along the SunRail corridor at the Church Street, Florida Hospital, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary and Sanford stations.

The schedule could certainly be a lot better, but there is one big plus. The last scheduled northbound SunRail train  departs downtown Orlando after midnight Saturday and completes its run in DeBary at 1:18 a.m. Sunday. Though that late service is not as good as the #LastCallTrain we’ve proposed, it certainly offers some hope for downtown Orlando’s party people.

Let’s make good use of the train on Nov. 5^th, because as of Wednesday afternoon, we don’t know when #SaturdaySunRail will be offered again.

See you on The Rail.

#SaturdaySunRail? Don't count on it

Remember when we were all so excited that SunRail was going to start running trains on Saturdays?

Well, never mind.

The first #SaturdaySunRail was supposed to happen Oct. 8^th, but it was cancelled because Hurricane Matthew came to Florida.

Then Team SunRail – the public-private sponsors of Saturday operations – and FDOT said the next planned #SaturdaySunRail operation won’t be until Nov. 5^th. FDOT explained they are working on critical track maintenance projects on the weekends.

So after Nov. 5^th, when will the next #SaturdaySunRail operation be?

Who knows.

Will there be #SaturdaySunRail for the massive Come Out With Pride festival at Lake Eola on Nov. 12?

Don’t know. FDOT’s not saying, so don’t count on it.

How about #SaturdaySunRail to support the massive Florida Classic FAMU-Bethune Cookman football showdown Nov. 19^th at Camping World Stadium?

Don’t know. Don’t count on it.

So maybe we won’t be seeing you on The Rail.

How #SaturdaySunRail turned into a cluster

Hate to write this, but #SaturdaySunRail has turned into a cluster almost as big as regular SunRail.

Team SunRail photo op

Why in the heck did Team SunRail – the public-private partnership offering Saturday train service – hold that big dog-and-pony show last month announcing the Saturday service if they didn’t have everything figured out.

Hasn’t Team SunRail heard you’re supposed to under promise and over deliver?

Team SunRail promised to run the train on Oct. 8^th, but that plan got blown away by Hurricane Matthew.

OK, we understand and support the decision not to run the train on Oct. 8^th. But never in our wildest imagination did we think Saturday service would not be offered again for a month.

You have got to be kidding us!

We spent the better part of last week trying to find out if the train would run last Saturday – Oct. 15. We didn’t get the official word the train would not run until last Friday (Oct. 14) – yeah, the day before Saturday.

That’s no way to run a railroad, or treat the public. Last Saturday people were spotted waiting at the Sand Lake Road SunRail station for a train that wasn’t coming. Sweet!

As of 5 a.m. today (Oct. 18), Team SunRail has not even updated their website that’s still announcing Saturday service will begin on Oct. 8.

Really?

We don’t understand why Team SunRail can’t provide a preliminary schedule of the Saturdays when train service will be offered.

Judging by comments on our Facebook page, riders have lost confidence in Team SunRail before the first Saturday train rolled.

Poor communications, lack of customer service and piss-poor planning are all reasons why SunRail is a disaster that’s headed for total failure.