This makes no sense, no sense at all. The increasingly successful Tri-Rail commuter service is on the verge of being sidetracked for lack of a dedicated funding (blame the Legislature) and a threat by Palm Beach County to cut its train appropriation by almost half next year.
It is too late for the Legislature to undo its mistake, but it isn't too late for the Palm Beach County Commission to rethink a pending decision to cut its share of Tri-Rail costs to the legal minimum, $4.23 million, from about $7 million. Broward and Miami-Dade counties also each contribute around $7 million annually for Tri-Rail's operations. The train serves the three counties. If Palm Beach cuts funding, the other counties may feel pressure to make similar cuts. What a tragedy that would be for the state's only commuter-rail service, especially now that ridership is growing.
Not the first failure
A Legislature-mandated dedicated revenue source would relieve the counties of their costs through a locally generated fee or tax. Two Tri-Rail funding bills, one that uses an existing $2 rental car fee and another that would have added a new $2 charge to rental cars in the three counties, were approved in the House but failed in the Senate, unfortunately. This isn't the first time Tri-Rail's hopes have been dashed. Two years ago, the Legislature approved the $2 rental-car fee only to see it vetoed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush.
Not permanently funding the commuter rail is short-sighted. Last month the trains carried 352,304 passengers, up from 275,049 in April 2007. Two things account for Tri-Rail's growth: completion of a second set of tracks, which allowed the number of daily trains to grow to 50 from 20; and soaring gas prices that are nudging people out of cars and onto the rails.
Backward step
Without Palm Beach County paying its full funding, Tri-Rail may have to cut back trains during rush hour. Such a backward step by Palm Beach would defeat the whole purpose of the 19-year train service. What's more, it would squander the $72 million the federal government paid for constructing the second track.
Palm Beach County officials understandably are frustrated that the Legislature failed yet again to approve a dedicated funding source for Tri-Rail. But such funding plans often take several years to gain approval in Tallahassee. All local governments face belt tightening now. Yet that's no reason for Palm Beach County to shirk its share of a commitment that keeps its residents on the rails and off the expressways. All three counties should muster the patience and fortitude to give Tallahassee till 2009 to do right by Tri-Rail and, in the meantime, keep it running at 50 trains per day for South Florida's growing cadre of commuters.
