Choo choo trains such a big govt tardo wet dream & Nazis were fans as well
The range is "90-143" but we're all throwing around $150 and comparing it to economy class flights, white vans and the cost of gas alone. Not exactly apples to apples.
That aside, one market would be business travelers. If I'm sending a guy down to Miami for a meeting, I don't reimburse him 30 bucks for gas, I reimburse him 50-something cents a mile or for a rental + fuel. That sounds like it would be the same price as the train ticket. And he'll get there faster and I can expect him to be productive en route.
The math changes if I'm sending a sales team or a even 2-3 employees for that same meeting. Not that companies wouldn't still do it anyway if it's a more luxurious option.
I have no idea if there are enough of these guys on the road and in the sky now to make it make sense. I also don't know how they'll get families on there if they don't have a really good rate for kids.
It's a little early to jump on the scam bandwagon. The state is cutting them a deal, but car companies make out pretty good when the state and feds build, expand and maintain roads, no?
This is entirely privately funded. The government was never going to fund this route, they asked for a privately financed, tax exempt loan from the government, but have said its not necessary for them to build it (and it seems likely to be denied).
Also, the article seems to be stating the AVERAGE ticket price will be between $93.80 to $143.46, with higher fares paid by business travelers and those traveling at specific times. Looking on Google Flights
https://www.google.com/flights/#search;f=MCO;t=MIA,FLL,PBI;d=2015-06-19;r=2015-06-19;tt=o;s=0 , I picked a day in a couple weeks and there are 15 flights to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale from Orlando, and they average $165 (and thats leaving out first class upgrades, just average of cheapest ticket on each flight).
Also, All Aboard Florida has indicated many times they plan to include many amenities, including meal service, wifi, and other things in the ticket prices. Also, considering the connections to the airports, they could be planning on pushing it as a connection between the airport and the final destinations rather then taking an extra connecting flight.
And, while I know quite a few people forget about this fact, you have to reimburse about 50 cents a mile for travel because that IS the average total cost of roadtrips (not counting lost productivity). $30 obviously only covers gas, and does not cover wear and tear, tires, oil, repairs, tolls, insurance, etc. Based on that rate, this trip would be over $100 to do by car, but obviously you can put more people in the car to split the cost.
I have no idea if their estimates will be accurate, its hard to predict if they'll be able to become a leg of some connecting flights, but I do believe a lot of our international toursists do not want to rent a car, and will love being able to come to Miami, spend a few days at the beach and enjoying its amenities, and then taking the train up to Orlando to enjoy our tourist attractions before going home. And same for our business travelers with our conventions. It will create more trips between the destinations. And little to no public dollars are being used for it.
My roommate at UCF had an old car and didn't want to take it on road trips, and he took these flights down to south florida all the time.
