Faced with a looming cash shortfall, the governing authority of Tri-Rail, South Florida’s subsidized commuter line, voted Friday to end a ride-partner program with Uber, Lyft and other taxi services, and directed the railroad to explore replacing its complex ticket scheme with flat fares.
Both moves would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. But the change in Tri-Rail’s long-standing zoned fare system is contingent on a study to be conducted by staff between now and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority’s next board meeting on Dec. 12.
The ride program became a target for extinction in August when it was first brought up at a board meeting. It also came after Tri-Rail’s executive director, David Dech, sounded a general warning last spring that the three-county railroad could run out of cash by 2027 after the Florida Department of Transportation slashed millions from its annual subsidy for the rail line’s operations.
Tri-Rail, which started operations more than three decades ago, serves 19 stations between the West Palm Beach area and Miami International Airport, including a stop in downtown Miami at a station it shares with Brightline. Management reported 4.5 million riders served during 2024.
After the Legislature passed the state budget in July, the authority was notified by FDOT that it would receive only $15 million, not an anticipated $42.1 million. Moreover, lawmakers in the three counties served by Tri-Rail — Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade — have raised serious concerns about their ability to increase their respective contributions of more than $4 million because of their own budget constraints.
Earlier this year, the authority told the counties that the state expects them to annually contribute up to $10 million each.
Ride program to close
During the Friday board meeting at Tri-Rail headquarters in Pompano Beach, the board sized up three options: kill the ride-share program outright by Nov. 30, retain it only for low-income riders, or let it run its course until a scheduled expiration date on June 30, 2026.
The program started in 2021 with $15 discount vouchers for Uber, Lyft and local taxi services for train riders who need transportation to and from Tri-Rail stations that were served by buses. Then, it was expanded to all stations except in downtown Miami and at Miami International Airport. The discount was reduced to $5 vouchers, with the cost split evenly between the state and the railroad. Riders between the West Palm Beach Tri-Rail Station and Palm Beach International Airport still receive a $15 discount.
At the Friday meeting, Dech read aloud statements from both national ride-share services, which hailed the program as one of high value for train riders. Both pledged their continued support.
But board member Raquel Regalado, who represents Miami-Dade County and has led the charge to eliminate the program, argued that ending the program would be a sign to the FDOT that Tri-Rail management and the board are serious stewards of the dollars they receive to run the railroad.
“This is about being fiscally responsible,” said Regalado, who is also a Miami-Dade County commissioner.
The ride program serves only 3.3% of Tri-Rail’s riders.
“We run a [train] service. We charge for a service. This aspect of it was always the icing on the cake,” she said, referring to the ride program, “We don’t even have a cake, folks. So let’s just rip the Band-Aid off and go back to Tallahassee saying we did the right thing, the numbers don’t make sense and let’s negotiate a path forward.”
By cutting off the program on Jan. 1, the railroad would save $520,000 for the remainder of its fiscal year, spokesman Victor Garcia told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
But the board, mindful of concerns raised by Chair Marci Woodward that Tri-Rail passengers would lose an important link to Palm Beach International Airport, asked Dech to contact county officials about using some of the savings to fund bus transportation.
Byzantine fare scheme
On the revenue side, the board decided to explore eliminating Tri-Rail’s complex fare system where passengers are charged by zones. There are six of them lined up between Mangonia Park north of West Palm Beach and a station near Miami International Airport, the end point of the line’s main corridor
For years, Tri-Rail has lost revenue to some passengers who buy tickets for short trips, only to stay aboard the trains for their intended destinations farther up or down the line. The railroad has few means to catch all of the offenders, other than to conduct spot ticket checks when passengers board.
Another problem: The system is too complicated for ticket buyers who frequently fumble with wallets and purses as they hurry to pay for their tickets and catch oncoming trains.
Again, it was Regalado who suggested the change by making Tri-Rail’s $5 weekend fare the standard for one-way travel along the system throughout the week.
“We have people who are not paying for what they’re riding,” she said of the zone system. “They’ve been gaming the system.”
The $5 charge, she added, would be comparable to what passengers are charged to ride Metro-Rail and buses in Miami-Dade, “for a much longer distance.”
“Going to flat fares is a good idea,” agreed board member Hal Valeche from Palm Beach County. “We should have done it sooner.”