TRANSPORTATION

Tri-Rail, bus ridership fell as gas prices soared past $4 per gallon

Palm Tran and Tri-Rail reported lower numbers of riders in early 2026, even as gas prices topped $4 per gallon. Only Brightline saw more riders.

Chris Persaud

Palm Beach Post

May 20, 2026, 9:37 a.m. ET

Key Points

Despite rising gas prices, South Florida commuters are not switching to public transportation.

Ridership for public bus and train services was lower in early 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.

The privately owned Brightline train has seen an increase in passengers, unlike its publicly funded counterparts.

Factors like higher incomes, remote work, and a rise in electric vehicles may contribute to the trend.

Despite gasoline and diesel prices surging since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Palm Beach County and South Florida commuters refuse to choose public transportation over driving their cars, recent data shows.

While Palm Beach County's publicly funded bus system, Palm Tran, and South Florida's publicly funded passenger train, Tri-Rail, gained riders in March, they lost travelers in April, and ridership during the first four months of 2026 remains lower compared to the same time period in 2025.

Florida's privately run passenger train, Brightline, however, continues gaining passengers despite costing more than either driving or public transportation.

Tri-Rail, Palm Tran saw ridership rise in March but drop in April

Palm Tran reported gaining nearly 60,000 passengers in March, surpassing 732,000, as AAA reported the county's average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas leaped to $4.06 in mid-March from $3.04 in late February.

But then bus ridership slumped by nearly 17,000 as gas climbed to about $4.20 a gallon by late April.

Palm Tran counted an average of about 706,000 each month from January through April this year, lower than the monthly average of 742,000 during the first four months of 2025.

Tri-Rail, which spans Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, gained nearly 57,000 riders in March, surpassing 402,000 total for the month, before declining to about 393,000 in April.

Tri-Rail logged an average of more than 378,000 riders each month this year for January through April, lower than the 396,000 monthly average the first four months of 2025.

Even with lower overall ridership, Tri-Rail has boasted single-day records this year due to special events and special rail service to and from them. Most recently, on Sunday, May 17, the train ferried more than 8,600 passengers up and down South Florida following the Inter Miami CF soccer match against Portland at Nu Stadium in Miami.

Tri-Rail's funding is in jeopardy. The Florida Department of Transportation cut its expected contribution to the train's budget last July by $27 million. The service also faces a $30 million deficit on top of that once COVID-19 relief funds from 2021 run out.

Tri-Rail would stop running by July 2027 without new sources of funding, rail officials have said. Florida lawmakers have not agreed either to reinstating or increasing Tri-Rail funding as they work to complete a state budget that would take effect July 1.

Brightline ridership is increasing, meanwhile. The company sold more than 396,000 trips in South Florida the first three months of this year, its latest ridership report shows, up from over 325,000 during the first quarter of 2025.

Gasoline in Palm Beach County averaged $3.20 to $3.30 per gallon in March and April of 2025.

Dip in bus, Tri-Rail ridership may stem from population changes

The decline in Palm Tran ridership is "consistent with regional transit trends tied to an overall shift in commuter patterns," spokesperson Janessa Croce said.

Tri-Rail spokesperson Victor Garcia suggested train passenger counts dropped in part because people are leaving South Florida.

While more than 2,300 people moved to Palm Beach County in 2025, more than 4,500 people left Broward County while Miami-Dade County lost more than 18,000 people, the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates show.

Palm Beach County residents have higher average incomes compared to the last times in recent memory when local gas prices broke $4 a gallon. Income for half of households in the county is about $85,000 or more, 2024 Census estimates show.

In 2022, when gas prices skyrocketed after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine, Palm Beach County's median household income stood at just below $77,000. In 2008, it was just under $53,000.

Commuters have also been moving away from fully fossil fuel-powered vehicles in recent years. Nearly 53,000 vehicles registered in Palm Beach County are gas-electric hybrids, and about 47,000 more are fully electric, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported in April.

More workers countywide are also allowed these days to work from home following the COVID-19 pandemic. About 16% do so, 2024 Census estimates show, about triple the rate in 2019.

Palm Tran bus passes cost $2 one way.

One-way tickets on Tri-Rail, which runs along Interstate 95, cost $2.50 to $5 within Palm Beach County on weekdays, and $8.75 to Miami-Dade County. The train has stops in Mangonia Park, downtown West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton.

Brightline costs $16 to $26 within Palm Beach County on weekdays, but the company also sells South Florida commuter passes, 10- to 40-ride packages, amounting to less than $9 per ride at their cheapest.

More information about Palm Tran can be found online at palmtran.org. More information about Tri-Rail can be found online at tri-rail.com. More information about Brightline can be found online at gobrightline.com.

Chris Persaud is a Palm Beach Post staff reporter. Email news tips to cpersaud@pbpost.com.

Brightline West $6 billion federal loan faces opposition from Texas anti-bullet train group

By Caitlin Devitt

Published May 15, 2026, 2:14 p.m. EDT

A Texas-based group opposed to a bullet train project in the Lone Star State has turned its attention to the West Coast, urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to reject a $6 billion federal railroad loan for the Brightline West high-speed line.

"We don't have any direct interest at all in any form with Brightline West — it's a policy concern," said John Sitilides, principal at Trilogy Advisors LLC, a Washington, D.C. based lobbyist.

Trilogy represents ReRoute the Route, a group of farmers, ranchers and businesses that oppose the Texas Central bullet train proposal.

"The concern my clients have is that if the administration approves a $6 billion [Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program] loan for Brightline West, it would set a precedent for a potential RRIF or other type of loan or grant or credit assistance for the Texas high speed rail project," Sitilides said.

The group penned a letter to Morteza Farajian, executive director of the Build America Bureau, urging him to reject loans for projects like Brightline West and Texas Central that "fail the bureau's investment-grade creditworthiness and repayment tests."

DesertXpress Enterprises LLC, which does business as Brightline West and is owned by Fortress Investment Group, applied for the RRIF loan last September. The company aims to build the nation's first electric high-speed train, which would run between Las Vegas and suburban Los Angeles.

The RRIF loan is considered by investors to be critical to the project move forward. Brightline has been talking with federal officials about the loan for months and has said it hopes to hear a final decision in early 2026.

The head of the Federal Railroad Administration made positive remarks about the project in late April at a public-private partnership event hosted by the Build America Bureau, which oversees the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program.

The company is also seeking a $4 billion senior loan package from a banking consortium, and said the bank funding is ultimately conditioned on the RRIF loan's execution.

Brightline in November secured an agreement with bondholders giving it more time to secure the financing package.

"No other RRIF loan has ever exceeded $1 billion, yet Brightline is requesting a $6 billion high-risk loan for a project not yet under construction that is years away from a hoped-for completion," the letter said. "This RRIF loan request makes clear that the project, if built, can only move forward with monies largely from taxpayers and tax-exempt bonds. This is not a private project, but instead a hybrid one whose costs are increasingly socialized, even as Brightline hopes to completely capture all profits if the project is ever completed," the letter said.

"Brightline's open pivot from private bank debt to federal taxpayer bailouts suggests that the private investor markets assess the project's volatility as too risk-laden assure eventual viability."

The group also pointed to the deteriorating situation facing Brightline Florida's passenger train, which is also owned by Fortress.

The RRIF application noted a project price tag of $21.5 billion, a 35% increase over an earlier $16 billion price tag.

Brightline West declined to comment.

Posted on May 12, 2026

TRAFFIC ALERT: UPCOMING RAILROAD CROSSING CLOSURES

The City of Hollywood has been notified of proposed dates and times for upcoming work along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor as part of Brightline’s railroad crossing improvement project.

This work will require temporary full closures at several railroad crossings throughout Hollywood. Each closure is expected to last one day only, weather permitting.

Proposed schedule of closures:

Taft Street
Friday, July 10
7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Garfield Street
Monday, July 13
7 a.m. – Noon

Harrison Street
Monday, July 13
Noon – 5 p.m.

Johnson Street
Wednesday, July 15
7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Fillmore Street
Friday, July 17
7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Tyler Street
Monday, July 20
7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Washington Street
Wednesday, July 22
7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Drivers will be encouraged to seek alternate routes and allow extra travel time when traveling in these areas. Please use caution near active work zones and follow all posted detour signage.

Please note: The schedule is subject to confirmation and possible changes due to weather or other unforeseen conditions.