Brightline releases ridership numbers for Orlando expansion
There were 79,686 Brightline train passengers travelling long distance to Orlando from stations in South Florida in October, according to its monthly ridership report.
Long distance passengers constituted 38.73% of all 205,745 passengers over the month, and ticket revenues from these trips constituted over 70% of ticket revenues for the month. Brightline has seen a 390% increase in ticket revenue as compared to October 2022.
Brightline ridership numbers for October
Ridership has increased by 101% since last October.
Service to Orlando International airport station began on Sept. 22, with an initial schedule of six daily roundtrips between South Florida to Orlando through Oct. 9, 15 daily roundtrips through Oct. 24, and 16 daily roundtrips since.
97,264 passengers travelled to Orlando in its 40 days of operation through Oct. 31, with 17,578 using this service in from Sept. 22 to end of the month, and the rest 79,686 using it in October.
Long-distance riders represented 38.73% of the total ridership.
Ridership is diverse and includes South and Central Florida residents, domestic U.S. visitors and international visitors from 92 countries.
Brightline is aiming at 4.3 million long distance annual passengers that will use its services between Florida and Orlando in 2025. It expects the main passengers to be:
South Florida residents traveling to Orlando
Orlando-area residents traveling to South Florida
U.S. domestic visitors traveling between south Florida and Orlando
International visitors
Brightline's revenue in Oct. 2023
Compared to October 2022, ticket revenue increased by 390% and total revenue by 328% for October 2023.
Long-distance ticket revenue constituted for 70.19% of Brightline’s ticket revenues in October 2023.
Revenue collected in October 2023:
Total ticket revenues were $10.4 million
Ticket revenue from long distance rides was $7.3 million
Ticket revenue from long distance rides was $3.1 million
Ancillary revenue from food and beverages, and other strategic business partnerships was $2.4 million
The total revenue was $12.8 million
In October 2022, the total revenue was $3 million, of which $2.1 million were short distance trips, the only kind available then.
One third of these long-distance tickets are sold for fares higher than the standard $79 and $149 one-way fares, the report states.
Average fare has also increased by 144% since last year.
Average fare per passenger for various trips in October 2023 was:
$24.53 for short distance
$91.79 for long distance
$50,58 overall
The one-way fares between Miami and Orlando presently as of December 2023 are:
$79 for SMART class of service
$149 for Premium service and
$199 for a family of four in SMART class.
Ananya Tiwari is TCPalm's business reporter. You can contact her at ananya.tiwari@tcpalm.com or follow her on Twitter.com at @Ananyati.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Brightline releases ridership numbers for Orlando expansion
