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Commuter rails, Florida needs to get onboard
The state of Florida has a trust fund, into which has flowed an unexpected amount of money in recent months, thanks to higher gasoline sales and increases in vehicle registration and driver's license fees.
For the struggling commuter rail system in South Florida, Tri-Rail, this could be good news. Lawmakers could use some of the anticipated $154 million extra to help cover operating costs.
The Legislature also could put some of the new money toward the proposed $1.2 billion, 61-mile SunRail train system linking Orlando and Tampa.
An alternative for helping to fund these could be a new tax on rental cars — a proposal that hasn't won much support in the past but that could be used to give the state leverage in seeking federal money for high-speed rail projects.
A special legislative session, looming this week, to affirm support of urban rail systems would go a long ways toward keeping a $2.5 billion in federal grant money from evaporating, and that is not an insignificant reason to meet.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has said Florida's support of commuter rail systems is a factor in awarding such grants, which are highly sought by many progressive states.
Such support has been slow to build, with proponents of rail service short 21 votes in the Senate. Some legislators simply have little faith in the financial viability of commuter systems, and others are primarily concerned about the state's liability in the event of accidents.
"I think the federal government has made it relatively clear that if we can show our commitment to rail here in Florida, then we have a much great opportunity for the bullet-train funds from the federal government," Mr. Crist said earlier this month.
He said potentially billions in federal stimulus funding of an inter-city "bullet train" is not directly linked to state promotion of urban rail systems such as Tri-Rail and SunRail. But, he said, "It shows a level of commitment on the part of Florida that would be favorably viewed by the federal government."
This is not an insignificant reason for lawmakers to confer in special session, reassess the issues and give Florida a fighting chance of joining the future of urban transportation that meets many of the environmental and economic goals that, to date, have been given mostly lip service.
