SunRail service on "some" Saturdays doesn't thrill everyone

The response to the news that the local business community is working on a plan to provide SunRail service on “some” Saturdays may not have been what was expected.

Empty SunRail station on the weekend

Immediately after we posted a video of a SunRail consultant disclosing the tentative plan some riders demanded to know why the plan would only cover “some” Saturdays.

While we’re grateful for any progress on getting SunRail weekend service, we also understand the frustration.

Everybody calling for weekend SunRail service isn’t trying to get to the Winter Park Farmers’ Market. Many riders need SunRail on Saturday AND Sunday to get to work.

Let’s not forget SunRail connects Central Florida to our two largest hospitals – Florida Hospital and Orlando Health.

How many people have been in a hospital that is open “some” Saturdays?

Caregivers need to be able to take the train to the hospital 7-days a week, on holidays and late at night. Those hospitals are 2 of Central Florida’s largest employers – a ready source of riders for a train that runs all the time.

SunRail also connects Central Florida to Orlando International Airport – another huge employer. Get off at Sand Lake Road and the bus ride (free with a transfer) to the airport takes less than 10 minutes.

Some airport employees are currently using SunRail, despite its painfully limited schedule. A lot more airport employees would be jumping aboard if the train had a more sensible schedule. Lots more airline passengers would be using the train too, if they could count on it.

SunRail leisure riders – going to the farmers’ markets, museums and events at Amway Center – are icing on the ridership cake.

We’re delighted that the Central Florida’s business community has taken an active role in trying to get weekend SunRail service rolling. But please don’t let the people who need the train to get to work on the weekend become an afterthought. They are our community’s backbone.

Orlando City Soccer and Winter Park Art Festival rock!

Orlando City Soccer President Phil Rawlins is a gentleman and a scholar.

About two weeks ago on this blog we posted an open letter to Mr. Rawlins suggesting that Orlando City Soccer make Orlando history by paying to run SunRail on a weekend for the first time on Sunday, March 8^th – when the team will play its opening day match.

While we never heard directly from Mr. Rawlins, he did respond.

It was announced today that the team worked out a deal to provide SunRail service on March 8 to help fans get to the match at the Citrus Bowl.

It’s also noteworthy that on that same day the Orlando Magic will be playing the Boston Celtics at the Amway Arena. Parking and traffic in downtown Orlando are sure to be a nightmare, so SunRail service will be a huge help.

This is historic because up to now SunRail only runs Monday to Friday – though everyone has been pleading for weekend service since the train launched May 1, 2014. March 8 will be the first time SunRail provided passenger service on a weekend.

The Orlando City Soccer news broke on the same day the organizers of the Winter Park Art Festival announced they will provide SunRail weekend service during that annual event on Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22.

These are phenomenal developments and they provide a great opportunity for all Central Floridians to show how they would use the train if was available every weekend.

Past demonstrations, such as our #RideBlkFri campaign, overwhelmed SunRail with enthusiastic riders who took the train to go shopping, going to parks and visiting friends.

These large rider turnouts are essential to help persuade local officials to find local dollars to keep SunRail rolling every weekend for leisure riders and for those who need to train to get to work on the weekend.

We can’t tell you how grateful we are to everyone who is making it possible to operate SunRail for the Orlando City Soccer opening day and during the Winter Park Art Festival.

Let’s ride!

Let's get local politicians to support weekend SunRail service

Contact these local elected officials and ask them to support a local plan to raise money for weekend SunRail service.

Seminole County Commissioners

Commissioner Bob Dallari  - fmacdonald@seminolecountyfl.gov

Commissioner John Horan – jspry02@seminolecountyfl.gov

Commissioner Lee Constantine – speters@semuinolecountyfl.gov

Commissioner Carlton Henley – gvenn@seminolecountyfl.gov

Commissioner Brenda Carey – stucker@seminolecountyfl.gov

Winter Park City Council

Mayor Kenneth Bradley – kbradley@cityofwinterpark.org

City Commissioner Carolyn Cooper – ccooper@cityofwinterpark.org

City Commissioner Steven Leary – sleary@cityofwinterpark.org

City Commissioner Sarah Sprinkel – ssprinkel@cityofwinterpark.org

City Commissioner Tom McMacken  - tmcmacken@cityofwinterpark.org

Orlando City Council

Mayor Buddy Dyer – buddy.dyer@cityoforlando.net

City Commissioner Jim Gray – jim.gray@cityoforlando.net

City Commissioner Tony Ortiz – tony.ortiz@cityoforlando.net

City Commissioner Robert Stuart – Robert.stuart@cityoforlando.net

City Commissioner Patty Sheehan – patty.sheehan@cityoforlando.net

City Commissioner Regina Hill – regina.hill@cityoforlando.net

City Commissioner Samuel Ings – Samuel.ings@cityoforlando.net

Orange County Commission

Mayor Teresa Jacobs – Mayor@ocfl.net

Commissioner S. Scott Boyd – district1@ocfl.net

Commissioner Bryan Nelson – district2@ocfl.net

Commissioner Pete Clark – district3@ocfl.net

Commissioner Jennifer Thompson – Jennifer.thompson@ocfl.net

Commissioner Ted Edwards – lynette.runnel@ocfl.net

Commissioner Victoria Siplin – district6@ocfl.net

Will you pay more to ride SunRail on the weekend?

Everybody wants SunRail trains to run on the weekends, but are you willing to pay for it?

During last week’s meeting of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission one of the bosses said it will cost an additional $5.5 million to run SunRail on the weekends – 18 trains daily on Saturday and Sunday.

As we previously explained, almost every mass transit system in the world has to be subsidized with public dollars, but the riders do have to pay their fair share from the fare box.

So on our SunRailRiders – Florida Facebook page we asked our followers: Would you be willing to pay a higher fare on the weekends to help pay for weekend SunRail service?

We were blown away by the response from riders who overwhelmingly support higher fares for weekend service.

For example, John wrote: “What's the point of having a system like this unless you can use it at any time -- day or night, weekend or holiday? We'll never get the ideal amount of cars off the roads unless SunRail is available at any time day or night.”

Then there’s Eric, who wrote: “Growing up in a city that had a great train system, I rode all the time as a kid. Now that I have a 3 and 6 year old - I want to take them downtown, and to the science center, etc. … and I would do it all from the Sand Lake station. Not running on weekends is a bad thing. Please SunRail - change this!”

Our good friend Dani, also made a strong business case for a higher fare for weekend SunRail service. She wrote: “I think weekend service should cost more than weekday service. Revenue Management 101 is to charge more for a timeframe that is either more desirable or costs more to offer your service.”

However there were some who don’t like the idea. Patrice wrote: “Not paying more...figure it out...The train was proposed for 7 days, my taxes are paying for it already...now make it happen!”

We tend to go along with the majority view to charge a higher fare for the weekends, but we do have some major concerns.

Many people calling for weekend service want the train running to use during their off hours to visit farmers markets or go to an Orlando Magic game or to dinner in Lake Mary, and so forth. Many of them don’t even ride SunRail during the Monday to Friday work week because the train doesn’t stop near to their job.

However, everybody in this market doesn’t work a conventional Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 schedule. Why should they pay a higher fare just because they work on the weekend?

If SunRail can ever get its ticketing system to work properly, we think the solution is to charge weekday fares to everybody who has a SunCard for rising weekly and monthly, and charge higher fares to people who buy one-day tickets from the vending machines on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hopefully the willingness to pay more to ride on the weekends will speed up the discussions and get trains running on the weekends by this summer.

See you on The Rail.

The SunRail #NightTrain is a winner

In case you’ve been wondering, SunRail’s new #NightTrain is a big hit.

Tuesday night, after the Orlando Magic game the newly added SunRail late-night train was carrying a heavy load when it left Church Street for the last northbound run of the evening. And the riders were ecstatic.

Tuesday was just the second night for the new #NightTrain that was introduced on Monday as a test of expanded SunRail service.

As expected, Monday night’s passenger load on the #NightTrain was nothing to write home about. Only about 100 people used that train, but that was no surprise given that it’s Christmas week and there was nothing special going on in downtown Orlando.

But it was an entirely different tune on Tuesday. By early evening on Tuesday we heard reports that there were lots of people riding SunRail downtown for the Magic game. Until now most Magic fans couldn’t seriously considering taking SunRail to the Amway Center because the last train for the evening passed through Church Street before the end of the basketball game.

Under SunRail’s new test schedule the northbound #NightTrain pulls into Church Street at 10:30. That gives Magic fans lots of time to exit the Amway Center and stroll over to the Church Street SunRail station. (Fans were particularly happy because the Magic won for a change!)

Many fans arrived at the SunRail station at 9:45 p.m. and a few even had time to get a drink at nearby nightspots and reach the train station with lots of time to spare. In addition to basketball fans, we also chatted with several folks who just left a John Lennon tribute concert on Church Street and some tourists who left their car at Sand Lake Road and rode SunRail to explore downtown Orlando.

Now everybody is asking us when weekend SunRail service will start. With the kind of strong ridership we witnessed on Tuesday night, hopefully SunRail weekend service will be here soon.

See how great you did during the #RideBlkFri campaign

We just got the official station-by-station breakdown showing how many people hopped aboard SunRail during our #RideBlkFri campaign to demonstrate support for expanding SunRail service to weekends and late night hours.

Crowded SunRail train on Black Friday

As you recall, since many people were off from work on Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving -- we asked you to ride the train to destinations you would visit if SunRail ran on the weekend.

As the numbers on the accompanying chart shows, the turnout was amazing. Volusia County residents proved they’re wild about SunRail. Nearly double the number of regular weekday riders used the train used the DeBary station on Black Friday. There were nearly double the number of regular riders at the Lake Mary and Sand Lake Road stations.

And holy cow, there were nearly triple the number of riders at Winter Park!

Check out Black Friday crowd in Winter Park

Friends, you outdid yourselves with your enthusiastic support of the #RideBlkFri campaign.

Hopefully local politicians are paying close attention because we need them to act quickly by approving the proposal to expand SunRail service to weekends and late-night hours. The SunRail bosses are planning to formally present that proposal to local leaders in January. Stay tuned.

See you on The Rai!

Stick to the numbers #RideBlkFri

Just the facts

SunRail’s average daily rider was:

• August: 3,647
• September: 3,045
• October: 3,214
• Nov. through Nov. 21: 3,166
• #RideBlkFri (Nov. 28): 4,555

At Wednesday’s SunRail Technical Advisory Committee meeting SunRail bosses said the #RideBlkFri was based on counts by the conductors and those counts were probably a little off because the cars were so crowded that it was difficult for conductors to get through the train to count people. The bosses said they think there were probably as many as 5,000 riding on that day.

The SunRail bosses said the #RideBlkFri riders show there’s intense demand to get SunRail running on the weekends and during off-peak hours.

Weekend and late-night SunRail service is (almost) on the way

They heard you.

The petition signing and riding SunRail on Black Friday to demand SunRail service be expanded to the weekends and later at night has made a big impression.

This (Wednesday) afternoon at a meeting of the SunRail Technical Advisory Committee Florida Department of Transportation bosses agreed that they were impressed by the turnout for #RideBlkFri and they openly suggested what expanded SunRail service might look like.

They’re talking about adding four trains (that means 4 round trips between Sand Lake Road and DeBary) on weekdays, and 9 roundtrips on Saturday and Sundays. Yup, real weekend service!

Don’t do a victory dance yet. The real devil is in the details, and as you might imagine getting that service expansion boils down to politics and money.

First, a quick history lesson. SunRail operations are being overseen at this time by the Florida Department of Transportation because this rail system was built to alleviate the huge traffic jams that are expected when the massive Interstate 4 construction project begins this coming February. In 2021 (that’s no typo) after the construction is complete, the financial responsibility for SunRail will go to the city of Orlando and Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties.

So before FDOT commits to expanding the SunRail service the state needs to get assurance that those local governments are willing to pick up the tab when the time comes. Here’s another little factoid to keep in mind, there is almost no public transit system anywhere in the world that pays all of its expenses from the fare box. That’s why local government money is needed.

How much is all of this going to cost? SunRail is currently tallying the estimate and plans to release a “white paper” in a few weeks that will get into all the gory details.

If all the stars are in alignment and those local governments agree, we could have weekend and late-night SunRail service in six months.

Sure, that’s a little frustrating, but we remember when no one really wanted to discuss expanded SunRail service? Now SunRail bosses are openly discussing the idea and even suggesting what that expanded service might look like.

You are responsible for pushing the expanded service idea this far. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Attention SunRail bosses: Please give us weekend and night train service #RideBlkFri

SunRail riders we salute you.

A week ago we challenged you to show your support for weekend and late-night SunRail service by riding SunRail today – Black Friday (Nov. 28^th).

The rationale was that many people would have the day off from school and work so they could use SunRail to reach the destinations they would visit if the train ran on the weekends. We asked you to ride to show how much demand there is for weekend and late-night SunRail service.

When you challenge people to take action you never know what will happen. We should have known better. So often in the past many of you have passionately called for expanding SunRail service hours. Today you put those words to action. The train was absolutely packed.

We were on a southbound train from DeBary at midday. There was no place to sit before the train reached Winter Park.  Heck, the train was packed at Sanford. It got even more jammed in Lake Mary. People were sitting on the steps as the train left Longwood. It was amazing! Many people told us they were riding as part of the #RideBlkFri campaign. It was both gratifying and humbling.

Regular riders said they haven’t seen the train so full since back in May when SunRail launched the service with two weeks of free rides. The big difference was that today people paid, and they were happy to “tap on and tap off.”

We always say “See you on The Rail,” and today we got to meet so many of you.  We thank everyone – individuals, organizations and businesses -- who helped us spread the #RideBlkFri campaign through your social media channels. Couldn’t have done it without you!

Keep posting photos and your experiences while riding SunRail on Black Friday. Special thanks also goes out to SunRail train crews and ambassadors who patiently assisted riders – many of whom were new to SunRail.

We are delighted – not for us – but for the Central Florida community. One day – sooner or later – the SunRail bosses will decide to expand the service to weekends and late-night hours.  What riders did today will certainly play a role in future SunRail operating schedules.

Bravo, to each and every one of you. Please take a bow.

Make your SunRail opinion count

SunRail wants your opinion.

Hard to believe, but SunRail actually wants to hear what you think of the train service.

SunRail reps are boarding trains and distributing survey forms to get your opinion. Now is your chance to let SunRail bosses know what you think.

It’s also an opportunity for you to tell SunRail that expanding service to weekends and late-night hours should be a priority.

The form asks where you board and get off. How you get to the SunRail station? If you use Lynx, Lymmo or Votran bus service? If you use reloadable SunCards? (This opens the door for you to blast Lynx for selling a 7-day SunCard, but only providing 5 days of service.)

The one-page form is very clear and easy to complete. (They don’t ask for your name.) The SunRail rep who distributes the forms will pick them up. Please take this seriously and complete the survey form to help make SunRail service better.

Hey everybody, let's ride SunRail on Black Friday

Riders always ask us what they can do to convince SunRail to run trains on the weekends and later at night.

For one thing, please sign the petition calling for expanded SunRail service. (Add your name to the petition by clicking here.)

The other thing we can do is: Ride SunRail as much as possible. Ridership numbers make a big impact. Politicians and bureaucrats pay attention to numbers – big numbers.

We know there are many people who want to ride SunRail but it’s not convenient for them during the week because the train doesn’t go near their home or job. However, those people usually have a long list of places they would catch SunRail to visit on the weekends.

Well, their prayers are answered. Next week there’s a weekday when SunRail will be running and that’s almost like a weekend because many people will have the day off. SunRail won’t be running on Thanksgiving (Nov. 27), but it will run the next day – Black Friday (Nov. 28).

Many people are off from work and plan to go shopping on Black Friday. That’s great, so let’s go shopping and avoid the overflowing mall parking lots by riding SunRail.

You can catch SunRail and transfer to a Lynx bus to reach Florida Mall, Altamonte Mall, Mall at Millennia and Seminole Towne Centre mall.

Oh yes we did! We actually suggested riding the Lynx bus. You might enjoy it. Recently we rode Lynx from the downtown Lynx Central Station to the Sand Lake Road SunRail station in south Orange County. It was easy. The Lynx buses are new; the driver was courteous and helpful; the ride was very quick, and the fare was only $2 (exact fare, please.)

Don’t roll your eyes at the thought of riding the Lynx bus. Easing traffic congestion, saving energy and reducing air pollution in Central Florida requires all of us to support a unified mass transit system that fully utilizes SunRail AND Lynx.

Besides the mega malls, SunRail is an excellent way to reach shopping areas in Central Florida’s smaller cities. Everybody knows that SunRail lets passengers off on Park Avenue in Winter Park. But did you know Lake Mary has a wonderful shopping area that’s just a five-minute stroll from the Lake Mary SunRail station?

In Sanford, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., the city provides a free shuttle van to take riders from the SunRail station to downtown Sanford where there are great places to shop and eat.

The timing of this SunRail rider campaign is especially important for businesses in Central Florida’s smaller cities because Saturday, Nov. 29^th is Small Business Saturday – a national observance when people are encouraged to spend money will small, locally owned businesses. However, as we all know, SunRail doesn’t run on Saturdays and Sundays. So let’s ride SunRail on Black Friday and give our small-business friends some love.

OK, so maybe you don’t want to take SunRail to go Black Friday shopping. Well then ride SunRail just to do it. Get off at Loch Haven Park or downtown Orlando to visit some cultural venues. Or take your bike on the train and ride up to DeBary to explore some of the bicycle trails.

Are you in? Pass the word and ask your friends, neighbors and coworkers to ride SunRail on Black Friday.

Instead of complaining about SunRail not running on weekends and nights, let’s show everyone how much we appreciate SunRail. Let’s pack those trains like we did right after the train service started back in May and June.

Mark Nov. 28^th on your calendar. See you on the rail!

SunRail can make this a world-class community

Central Florida has all the makings of a world-class community.

Last week we cut the ribbon to open the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando.

That opening was celebrated last Saturday by an open house for the public and a free concert by Grammy-award winner Sheryl Crow. While that concert was underway on the center’s front lawn, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performed inside. Meanwhile -- just three blocks away from the performing arts center -- the Orlando Solar Bears hockey team played the Greenville Road Warriors in the Amway Center, home court for the NBA’s Orlando Magic basketball team.

There’s so much going on, not just in downtown Orlando, but throughout Central Florida.

But Central Florida still isn’t a world-class community, because we still function like a small town.

Six months ago we launched the SunRail train system at a cost of $1 billion, but it doesn’t run on weekends, or late at night.

SunRail has a station that is within a 5-minute walk of the performing arts center and the Amway Center, but the train wasn’t running on Saturday night when it could have offered a wonderful transportation alternative to the thousands of people who attended downtown events.

In addition to the downtown venues, weekend and night SunRail service opens the door for people to experience a host of other entertainment and cultural venues from South Orange County to Volusia County.

The board that oversees SunRail is scheduled to meet on Wednesday. It would be nice if those officials demonstrated some world-class leadership and put SunRail on a 7-day schedule.

What issues should be addressed at this week's big SunRail meeting?

The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission will hold its quarter meeting this Wednesday morning, Nov. 12. That commission oversees the SunRail commuter train system.  What issues do you want to see them address and resolve at the meeting?

The commission members are: Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Seminole County Commissioner Carlton Henley, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Volusia County Council Chairman Jason P. Davis and Osceola County Commissioner Frank Attkisson. Ms. Jacobs chairs the commission; Mr. Henley serves as vice chair and Mr. Dyer is secretary.

Late-night SunRail run

Know how everyone -- including us -- laments that SunRail doesn't run on weekends and late-night hours.

Well we just heard from a faithful rider that SunRail made a late-night weekend run just a few days ago -- though it wasn't planned.

On this past Friday night a northbound Amtrak train hit and destroyed a car that got stuck on the tracks in Seminole County at General Hutchinson parkway and Ronald Reagan Blvd. Thank goodness no one was hurt, but the driver got a ticket.

The crash caused major delays along those tracks that are used by SunRail. The SunRail train that departs Sand Lake Road at 9:15 p.m. didn't make it to DeBary until 12:18 a.m. on SATURDAY MORNING.

But hey, SunRail got through. SunRail and the riders deserve a gold star for perseverance.

Support expanded SunRail service by riding on the Columbus Day Holiday

This Monday, Columbus Day, presents a unique opportunity to show how much we want to see SunRail run on weekends and late-night hours.

Usually SunRail does not run on federal holiday, but it will be running on Columbus Day (Oct. 13, 2014) when many people have the day off from work. This is a great opportunity to get out there and ride and check out some of the places you can visit on The Rail – from bicycle trails near the DeBary station to shopping and dining on Fourth Street in Lake Mary, going to some of our great museums in Loch Haven Park at the Florida Hospital stop. Honestly, every stop on SunRail is unique and worth exploring.

This is an opportunity that may not come around for a long time. It’s time for us – the SunRail riders – to put up or shut up.

Lately some people have been clucking over some declines in SunRail ridership. Those of us who ride The Rail on a regular basis understand how important SunRail is to the future and prosperity of our community.

We need to demonstrate our support by getting out there and riding. And get our friends and neighbors to ride, too. We want to see SunRail reach its full potential – with weekend and late-night service. Ride on Monday to show what SunRail means to this community.

Please click here to watch an important video, and share this link with your friends.

We’ll be riding Monday, and if you see SunRailRiders.com founder David Porter, please be sure to say hello and he’ll have a special gift for you.

See you on The Rail.

SunRailRiders - Petition drive to expand service to weekends and late night

SunRail is perfect, except for two things: It doesn’t run on the weekends, or late at night.

The most common SunRail question we hear is: Why can’t SunRail service be expanded to weekends and late-night hours?

The Florida Department of Transportation officials who manage SunRail say they don’t have the money to expand the service. That’s a shame. It seems odd to create a public transit system that only runs on weekdays. That’s like buying a new pair of sneakers, but only providing shoe laces for the right sneaker. Sure, you can walk in those sneakers, but it’s not easy.

Many people don’t work a traditional Monday-to-Friday schedule. Two of SunRail’s major stations are at Metro Orlando’s main hospitals – Florida Hospital and Orlando Regional Medical Center. How many people would go to a hospital where doctors, nurses, other health-care professionals and support staff, only work Monday through Friday?

The current weekday-only schedule prevents SunRail from reaching its full potential. Weekend service would encourage more people to keep their cars at home on the weekend while enjoying cultural and recreational events from DeBary to Lake Eola; visiting a sick friend at Florida Hospital, or having dinner with relatives in Altamonte Springs and Longwood.

Let’s also remember that we have many senior citizen residents who really shouldn’t drive long distances. Weekend service on SunRail would be a godsend to seniors.

Late-night trains offer a transportation alternative to people who have been enjoying “adult beverages” at restaurants and clubs on Orange Avenue.

Every car left parked on the weekends saves energy and helps protect the environment.

Expecting SunRail to run 7 days a week doesn’t seem like too much to ask.

Just last month St. Paul, Minn. began service on its Metro Green Line train system. It runs 7 days a week.  Closer to home Tri Rail in South Florida – almost identical to SunRail – operates 7 days a week. Metrorail in Miami runs 7 days a week. The Metromover people-mover rail system in downtown Miami runs 7 days a week. The Jacksonville Skyway people-mover runs 7 days a week. Even the Hogwarts Express at Universal runs 7 days a week!

SunRail fans shouldn’t have to settle for “can’t.” The United States is a can-do nation. We’ve cured dreaded diseases and put men on the moon. Surely we can find a way to run SunRail 7 days a week.

We think expanded service is worth trying. If you agree, please sign the attached Change.Org online petition to expand SunRail service hours to the weekends and later at night.

Click here to sign the SunRail petition