QuoteState missing out on federal dollars that other states are getting for rail.
By Joe Follick
LEDGER TALLAHASSEE BUREAU
Published: Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 11:55 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 12:31 a.m.
TALLAHASSEE | While federal stimulus spending and increased environmental consciousness have created a new golden age for commuter rail systems nationally, Florida continues to struggle to get on board.
The largest commuter train system in the state, South Florida's Tri-Rail, is still stuck in the red after 20 years of operating.
Lawmakers have battled for two years yet failed to sign off on a bill to start SunRail commuter service in greater Orlando.
And nearly 30 years after lawmakers promised to create a statewide commuter train system connecting all of the state's major cities, that goal has not moved any nearer.
Jeff Koons is a Palm Beach County commissioner and longtime member of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority that runs Tri-Rail.
He said that unless Florida lawmakers dramatically change their views and embrace commuter rail, the state may miss the national movement and money.
"What's amazing to me is the federal government just looks at Florida and they just shake their heads," Koons said.
"You need leadership and we just don't have it. (Gov. Charlie) Crist came out with his climate change stuff and said we need less vehicle miles. But how come the executive branch isn't formulating the strategy to do what you want to do?"
ISSUES: MONEY, LOCATION
The problem, as it often is in Tallahassee, is money.
Despite the clear message to reduce automobile use in the sprawling urban areas of Florida, lawmakers are unwilling to ask their constituents to pay for a rail system on the other side of the state.
"The bottom line is that people in my district, if ever one or two of them use Tri-Rail, it'll be few and far between," said Sen. Mike Fasano, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Appropriations committee who is from New Port Richey, north of Tampa. "Why would the people in my district or the Panhandle or Jacksonville have to pay for a train system they'll never use and that's in the red?"
SunRail, the proposed 61.5-mile commuter rail line between DeLand and Poinciana through downtown Orlando, will cost at least $2.6 billion to start and operate over the next 30 years.
FDOT projects that the state will pay for about $703 million of that cost with most going toward the purchase of the line from CSX Transportation and improvements of a freight line between Jacksonville and Tampa for increased CSX traffic.
NUMBERS DON'T ADD UP
But the rest of the numbers have raised eyebrows.
FDOT projects that fares paid by riders will be $510 million over 30 years or about $17 million per year on average.
That projection is nearly twice as much as the reality in South Florida.
In its 20th year of operation, Tri-Rail - which operates in a more populated area on 71.7 miles of track - generated nearly $9 million in fares despite a record number of riders at an average of around 16,000 per day.
FDOT forecasts fewer riders for SunRail - 14,500 trips per day in 2030 when the system is completed, though they say that number is conservative and likely to be higher.
And while the state agreed to subsidize Tri-Rail for 14 years, it has promised to help SunRail for only seven years, after which the local governments - including four counties and a number of cities - are supposed to take over all funding and eventually pay the largest share over 30 years at $764 million.
Fasano does not think that will happen.
"I have yet to see a public transportation system that is in the black. I have no doubt that a few years down the road that someone is going to have to pick up the losses that SunRail is being hit with," said Fasano. "It's either going to have to be the riders or it's going to have to be the taxpayers that never use it."
SunRail supporters and FDOT officials say their projections are sound and that the state will turn over operations to local governments in seven years per a signed contractual agreement.
And Fasano and others support the SunRail plan as a necessary step toward less reliance on cars that will in turn reduce urban sprawl that makes living and commuting more expensive.
LESSENING TRAFFIC
And even a rail system that is not self-sufficient can save the state money if it means less need for more expensive construction on interstates and roads.
The SunRail system, FDOT claims, will eventually carry the equivalent of one lane of I-4 traffic.
One lane of I-4 in one direction for 20 miles would cost $1 billion.
For years, Tri-Rail officials have sought a fixed source of revenue.
One idea is a $2 fee on rental cars in South Florida to generate nearly $50 million per year, a move that lawmakers have previously approved but former Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed.
But with legislative negotiation already a taut battle, few seem willing to bring up the controversial rental car fee idea this year.
Crist has supported the SunRail plan, but has spoken very little about creating a statewide system.
The mood from President Barack Obama's administration is demonstrably more sweeping.
On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden announced a $1.3 billion plan for Amtrak.
"For too long, we haven't made the investments we needed to make Amtrak as safe, as reliable, as secure as it can be," said Biden. "That ends now."
Last week, Koons visited federal officials in Washington, D.C., and left simultaneously excited and depressed about the future of Florida's commuter rail system.
Excited because the chance is there for growth; depressed because Florida may not grab the chance by putting its own money forth to get projects going and earn federal support.
"Utah, North Carolina, everyone. They're all telling us, 'Hey! Thanks for not taking my federal dollars,'" Koons said.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20090314/NEWS/903145050
The title for the same article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for the same article says it all:
Florida lacks momentum on commuter rail
despite the federal stimulus monies available for rail