This is getting good. Where's the popcorn?
QuoteBy Michael Turnbell | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
4:07 PM EDT, May 21, 2009
Ante up, Tri-Rail. The feds want their money back.
The Federal Transit Administration says it can hold the commuter train in default of a $256 million federal grant used to add a second track if Tri-Rail cuts service this fall as planned.
And don't count on getting any more federal money in the future.
"In the event of default, the FTA may demand all federal funds provided to (Tri-Rail) for the project be returned," said Yvette Taylor, the FTA's regional administrator in Atlanta.
Tri-Rail received the grant in exchange for promises to run 48 trains a day with rush-hour service every 20 minutes.
But Tri-Rail plans to drastically reduce service from 50 trains to 30 trains on weekdays starting Oct. 5 due to a cash crunch. All weekend and holiday service will be eliminated.
If no funding is found, Tri-Rail can survive another 18 months beyond October. After that, all service would end.
The 20-year-old commuter service's long quest for a dedicated funding source - a $2 tax on all rental cars in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties - went down in defeat in the Legislature earlier this month.
The $2 tax would have brought in $40 million or more, replacing funding that has been provided by the three county governments.
Budget negotiators declined to include a $30 million infusion to keep Tri-Rail running.
Tri-Rail's board of directors will hold a news conference Friday morning to talk about the train's dire financial situation.
The threatened service cuts come as Tri-Rail has broken numerous ridership records, putting it among the nation's fastest-growing commuter trains.
Michael Turnbell can be reached at mturnbell@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4155 or 561-243-6550.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=4262501#post4262501
QuoteBoard OK's Tri-Rail cuts but requests new proposal
A Tri-Rail budget approved Friday would cut back weekday runs, end weekend service and shut down the entire service in 2011.
BY ALFONSO CHARDY
ACHARDY@MIAMIHERALD.COM
Tri-Rail officials rolled out a budget Friday that calls for some draconian changes: reducing service from 50 trains daily to 30, ending weekend and holiday runs and completely shutting down the system by early 2011.
Yet Tri-Rail riders should hold off before making alternate travel plans.
That's because board members, who voted 5-2 to approve the tight budget, instructed Tri-Rail staff to tweak it and return with a new proposal next month that somehow could ensure service without cutbacks.
The doomsday budget was unveiled at the regular monthly meeting of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. Officials also disclosed that the Federal Transit Administration is threatening to demand the return of $256 million Tri-Rail used for adding a second track -- if service is cut below 48 trains a day.
Tri-Rail's agreement with the transit agency called for a minimum of 48 trains a day with 20-minute intervals between them during rush hours.
''Tri-Rail is in dire straits,'' said Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, who also serves as chairman of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.
While Tri-Rail has faced tough times before, this is the first time in the system's 20-year history that officials are seriously considering ending the service -- formally started in 1989 as an alternative to commuters who faced rush-hour disruptions during an earlier reconstruction of Interstate 95.
Eggelletion and authority Executive Director Joe Giulietti said the situation is worse now because Tri-Rail failed to secure a dedicated source of funding during the recently ended session of the Florida Legislature. Making financial matters even worse: The counties that help fund the system -- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach -- notified the board they will reduce subsidies for the tri-county commuter rail.
Giulietti said the bleak fiscal picture leaves Tri-Rail with a $9 million funding shortfall that requires service cuts first and -- absent a dedicated source of funding or additional money from somewhere -- a shutdown of service by 2011.
$18 MILLION LOSS
The hit to the budget would actually be $18 million because the Florida Department of Transportation would also cut $9 million in matching funds, Tri-Rail officials said. Previously, Tri-Rail officials had said that the three counties had taken no concrete steps to decrease funding, though they acknowledged that some commissioners had talked about funding cuts.
Friday was the first time Tri-Rail officials said the counties were planning to reduce contributions to the required minimums of about $4.2 million per county -- instead of the $7 million per county under existing levels.
''The counties will no longer be funding this agency at the same level,'' said Eggelletion. ``That's what the problem is.''
Giulietti said each county was giving Tri-Rail $7 million a year or about $3 million more than required by law. But he said that the counties had recently notified Tri-Rail that they intended to ''drop back'' to the minimum level of about $4.2 million a year. Later, other Tri-Rail officials said the counties' cuts would take effect in October.
Ironically, the funding crisis comes at a time of high ridership for Tri-Rail. The number of passengers has risen from about 7,500 a day in 2005 to about 14,000 a day.
Experts believe the surge in riders began as a result of last summer's spike in gas prices. Ridership stayed high, experts said, because of the recession, which has forced many commuters to think twice about driving.
Tri-Rail has an annual budget of about $47 million. Almost half comes from three counties' contributions. The rest comes from fares, the Florida Department of Transportation and the federal government.
If the board action Friday is reaffirmed at the June meeting, service cuts would take effect Oct. 5, and closure would occur 18 months later.
Tri-Rail's funding woes have been compounded by a letter received Wednesday from Yvette G. Taylor, regional administrator in Atlanta for the Federal Transit Administration, warning that if Tri-Rail implements service cuts, her agency may demand return of the $256 million for double-tracking.
''In the event of default, the government will have all remedies at law and equity, including the right of specific performance, termination and or suspension,'' Taylor wrote in the letter, a copy of which was given to reporters by Tri-Rail officials.
Eggelletion said he interpreted the letter as a threat to sue as a way to recover the money.
The current Tri-Rail funding crisis began when, toward the end of the legislative session earlier this month, it became clear lawmakers would not pass legislation that would have created a dedicated source of funding for the service.
Money would have come from a statewide $2 surcharge on car rental transactions, which could yield between $45 million and $50 million a year -- enough to cover Tri-Rail's annual operations. The proposal was linked to a broader measure that would have funded an Orlando area rail system known as SunRail. The SunRail proposal died when some legislators questioned its cost.
Eggelletion said Friday he was optimistic Gov. Charlie Crist might come to the rescue. ''I'm asking the governor to step up,'' he said.
Afterward, he said the Florida Legislature may be convinced over the next two years to pass a bill giving Tri-Rail a dedicated funding source.
REGIONAL BUS SERVICE
But even if Tri-Rail closes, it will not be the end of regional transit service.
Starting in January, Broward County Transit and Miami-Dade Transit will launch the first full-fledged regional bus service between the two counties, adding buses that will link downtown Miami with North and Central Broward.
The counties plan to launch the service on Interstate 95 express lanes.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/v-fullstory/story/1061825.html
Replacing Tri-Rail with regional bus service from West Palm Beach to Miami? Hilarious.
Lake, that's around 21 buses per hour over a 16 hour day. Now add in the 20 minute headways and YIKES looks like a BUNCH of BUSES all parked on I95!
OCKLAWAHA
Someone jump up and down and go down there and hug those diesel engines with the hope that they will never leave South florida tracks.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 29, 2009, 12:35:58 AM
Someone jump up and down and go down there and hug those diesel engines with the hope that they will never leave South florida tracks.
Trust me they won't leave South Florida, because NO ONE in SOUTH FLORIDA is as STUPID as Jacksonville has historically been. If they were, we would be the city that just topped off 70+ new high rise towers, and our own Commuter Rail would have been up and running by 1940. Our mayor would be wearing Mouse ears, and the Magic would be just another Jacksonville team. We'd all be watching CSI Jacksonville on TV and scenes shot at our airport would have hundreds of aircraft and air carriers in them.
This is a classic standoff over money and breach of faith, it may take a slow walk down Allen Street and right into the OK CORRAL, but in the end, Tri-Rail will be much more stable. OCKLAWAHA
You make it sound as if civilization cannot live without government subsidized funding of transportation. There is no need for rail travel from coast to coast for passenger travel. No need for it, you can get from one coast to the other in a few hours compared to days for a train. So why run these?
We have no need for commuter rail in jacksonville. We are far more spread out than other cities of the same size and we have no real need for a very expensive rail system that is not proven it will work to carry more than the Skyway system carries now.
The democrats believe that rail will work, because they control the presses and have no problem deflating the dollar. As a conservative, I'd rather see businesses rise or fall on their own. Of course GM will be the next bailout, which will lend itself to further bailouts of other businesses.
Its a shame, this has all happened in the past, and we are too stupid to realize it and we will all suffer for it for a longer period of time than in the past.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 29, 2009, 01:08:46 AM
We have no need for commuter rail in jacksonville. We are far more spread out than other cities of the same size
I see this as a paradox. Being so spread out is the very reason we need it. Even the mayor recognizes that Jacksonville is going to experience substantial growth in the coming decades...will it be intelligent growth or more of the same sprawl?
The spread out argument also isn't exactly true, unless we're talking about heavy rail (ex. third rail type systems like Chicago's EL or the Bay Area's BART). Atlanta, Houston, Nashville and Charlotte are all examples of cities more spread out than Jacksonville. Little places like Little Rock, Kenosha and Tucson have had rail (streetcars) for years. I don't know why those against rail keep going back to it. No one is talking about taking rail all the way out to Argyle or Kingsley Plantation. Foucs on using rail corridors as transit spines that connect major destinations and are feed on all ends by bus service. Also take advantage of Amtrak to connect the core with far flung bedroom communities. Really, this thing is not that complicated.
QuoteAtlanta, Houston, Nashville and Charlotte are all examples of cities more spread out than Jacksonville. Little places like Little Rock, Kenosha and Tucson have had rail (streetcars) for years.
Exactly... yet somehow mtrain thinks Jacksonville does not need nor will use a streetcar or commuter rail.
Trading trains for buses.....I hope this doesnt happen. But, this is the perfect example of why the FTA has such a huge dislike of Florida. Orlando has screwed them twice now and now the rest of the state will pay.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 29, 2009, 01:08:46 AM
You make it sound as if civilization cannot live without government subsidized funding of transportation.
Its a shame, this has all happened in the past, and we are too stupid to realize it and we will all suffer for it for a longer period of time than in the past.
Can you name one mode of transportatoin that is NOT government subsidied? Highways, airports, are all subsidied, and so is the production of autos, and not just recently, and not just the domestics.
Okay, walking
ISN'T subsidized but that has its limitations don't you think?
You are correct, streetcars did
happen in the past. They were quite successful actually, until the automakers purposely bought them up and put them out of business.
Quote
Okay, walking ISN'T subsidized but that has its limitations don't you think?
Well those sidewalks come from public money. I guess if we aren't swinging from the trees (indigenous) we are all big government wakos MTrain? ;)
Except for the fact Nashville is about 300 sq miles smaller than Jax in land area alone.
Quote from: reednavy on May 29, 2009, 11:27:39 AM
Except for the fact Nashville is about 300 sq miles smaller than Jax in land area alone.
Well, Lake was talking about the metro area serviced by its commuter rail, not city limits. In Nashville's case, that would include Lebanon.
The city limits maybe 300 sq miles smaller, but actual sprawl development knows no municipal limit boundaries. A local example would be the Westside. Most of it, in Jacksonville's limits, is still rural and undeveloped. On the other hand, if you head south paralleling the river, significant development crosses county borders and extends far into Clay County. Census data indicates that Nashville's urbanized area spreads out more than Jacksonville's and is less dense.
Nashville
Land Area: 1115.7 square miles
Density: 1740.9 residents/square mile
Jacksonville
Land Area: 1063.2 square miles
Density: 2,149.2 residents/square mile
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua2k.txt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_urban_areas