Brightline says passenger trips rose 18% in September compared with a year earlier — about 40,000 more trips — in its latest monthly ridership and revenue report, published October 16. About 71% of the gain came from trips to and from its Orlando International Airport station; the rest, just under 12,000 trips, came from travel among Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Revenue rose with ridership: $18.2 million in September, up 14% year over year, with average fares down — $22.35 for a South Florida trip and $72.17 for an Orlando trip. The growth comes as Brightline and its affiliates, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 24 to restructure about $4.4 billion in debt, seek a court-approved deal that would bring in $140 million in new loans plus $350 million from creditors taking 95% control from Fortress Investment Group.
Why it matters
Brightline says trains will keep running throughout the bankruptcy case, and it still plans stations in Stuart and Cocoa and an eventual Tampa extension. For South Florida families who use the line for Orlando trips, the September numbers are the clearest sign yet that service demand is holding up while the company's finances are restructured in court.
