Budget gap: Tri-Rail needs $30M or it may cut service, VA hospital extension
Tri-Rail is asking Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties for a combined $30 million yearly or it could mean service cuts to the commuter service that hundreds of thousands of people ride each month, train officials have told county administrators and commissioners for the three South Florida counties.
COVID-19 relief money from the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan in 2021 has been bolstering Tri-Rail's budget, but will run out by the end of 2026, the executive director of the rail service's governing board, David Dech, has said.
"We have some reserves, but it's time to have that conversation ... and see what, if anything, we want to do (moving) forward," Dech said at the Feb. 28 joint meeting of the South Florida and Treasure Coast Regional planning councils, which included top administrators and elected officials from across Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Dech has been meeting for the past month and a half with officials for the three counties, discussing ways to plug the coming gap. Ideas Dech and Tri-Rail have pitched mainly consist of higher taxes, such as property taxes and sales tax, amounting to $10 million from each of the three counties. Those tax increases would have to be approved by the counties' voters or state lawmakers.
"Tri-Rail is a major component of getting working people from one county to another," Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker said at the Feb. 28 joint planning council meeting. But, she told Dech, "to tell me that you may be looking for $10 million (from Palm Beach County) in the next fiscal year, I don't know how we're going to handle that."
' That will be a very heavy lift and a big stretch,' Broward County Administrator Monica Cepero said, adding that Tri-Rail is "critical and essential" to South Florida.
Tri-Rail passenger fares cover 10% of the train's nearly $124 million in operating expenses, rail officials reported at the Jan. 28 meeting of Tri-Rail's governing board, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. The rest comes mainly from state and county agencies.
Without the $30 million, Tri-Rail would have to cut back on projects such as station rehabilitation and upgrades, and would have to consider cutting service, spokesman Victor Garcia said. About 4.4 million people in 2024 rode the 74-mile commuter train, including more than 1.5 million in Palm Beach County.
'The question is going to be ... what should be our fair share" to pay for Tri-Rail? said Palm Beach County Commissioner Marci Woodward at the Jan 28.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Gregg Weiss, whose district includes Tri-Rail's downtown West Palm Beach station, warns that losing the commuter rail service would mean more frustration for drivers.
"We gotta keep keep this operating or else we're going to flood the roadways with trips," he said, but has not yet decided on a funding plan he would support.
Tri-Rail officials will meet again March 28 to discuss developments on funding plans.
Without a regular source of money to make up for the end of the COVID money, one Florida transportation official has said, the state is unlikely to supplement Tri-Rail's efforts to build a station at the VA Medical Center in western Riviera Beach, at Military Trail and Blue Heron Boulevard.
County and transit officials have discussed this station for more than a quarter-century. The Tri-Rail governing board's members voted on Jan. 28 to ask the state Transportation Department for $7.5 million to help design and build it.
The Florida Department of Transportation's representative on Tri-Rail's governing board, Stacy Miller, told them that the department would likely reject the Tri-Rail request if the rail service lacks a dedicated funding source to keep the trains running. She voted to approve making the request only after it was changed so that the request was contingent on having such a revenue source.
Tri-Rail runs 54 trains each weekday, and 30 each on Saturday and Sunday, between Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. It includes stops in or near downtown West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and all three major commercial airports across South Florida: Palm Beach International, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and Miami International.
Round-trip fares for non-disabled adults range from $5 to $17.50, depending on how far one wants to go.
Tri-Rail has grown ridership back to pre-pandemic levels partly due to providing special services to big events. It will run trains as late as 1 a.m. from Miami March 29 and March 30 for revelers attending Ultra Music Festival. Tri-Rail ran special late night trains in October from its Golden Glades station in Miami for Taylor Swift fans attending her Eras Tour concert at the nearby Hard Rock Stadium.
Tri-Rail also covers $5 on Uber, Lyft and taxi fares to and from its stations, except for trips between its West Palm Beach station and Palm Beach International Airport, where the discount is $15.
Chris Persaud covers transportation in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Send story tips and ideas to cpersaud@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tri-Rail needs $30M or it may cut service, VA hospital extension
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