Orlando is where the money is for Brightline.
For the first seven months of the year, Brightline had more than 900,000 long-distance passengers — those traveling to and from Orlando.
As for short-distance riders — those going between West Palm Beach to Miami with three stops in between — 712,874 riders took the train, down from 1,112,598 for the first seven months of 2023.
July figures show almost twice as many passengers were long distance than commuters, two months after Brightline raised commuter tickets from $399 to $1,400 for 40 tickets.
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Brightline took in 26% less money from short-distance riders in July, compared to the same month in 2023.
That loss was more than offset by the $10 million the high-speed rail company took in from the Orlando route.
In its statement to investors, Brightline wrote: "To meet demand for our more profitable long-distance segments, in certain instances we continue to restrict available capacity for short-distance trips."
