With Brightline beginning its trips from South Florida to Orlando on Friday, WPTV wanted to compare the prices and times if someone decided to drive instead of taking the train.
It's not just about the money. On a train, you don't have to pay attention to the road. You don't have to worry about traffic. You don't have to deal with other drivers. You don't have to sit at the wheel for 3 hours. You can stand up and stretch your legs without losing any travel time. You can watch a movie. You can play some games. You can take a nap. It's far less stress.
It’s not really about which is cheaper. Technically flying from Miami to Orlando is very very cheap but it’s about how much easier Brightline is. No having to drive, pay for parking, have to deal with airport security and delays, not having to deal with sometimes crazy drivers. It cuts out a lot of headache and that’s ent it can be worth it for those looking for a super simple trip. When I get to Orlando there’s shuttles and trolleys I can take to get around the relevant areas so a car isn’t super necessary and you can still get around
There is security, but it's nowhere near as hellish as TSA. You put your bag in, and they ask you to take stuff out of your pockets. People complain, but they're probably just recknecks angry about not being able to take their gun.
@@lorddoma6637 In Miami or Orlando? Either way you are going to deal with huge amounts of traffic & idiot drivers. Did I mention city gas prices? Nope, train is better & then Uber it.
Why would you round trip for 8 hours? Wouldn't it make more sense to ride 4 hours, enjoy your day, and then ride 4 hours home, making it 2 four hour trips?
@@ncard00 If the majority of cars on the road are Light Trucks compared to normal-sized cars, traffic would technically be longer because of the extra length of the vehicle.
For everyone, Brightline tickets will be cheaper in the future. This also happend on the WPB-FTL-MIA route. And when the extra 3 cars per train (30 cars total) the tickets will get even cheaper.
I am sure that within a few months every venue will have free shuttles to their attractions/services. Brightline trains arrive/depart from a massive 200k sf Terminal link station in Orlando which accommodates buses, shuttles, light rail to the air terminals and train service etc. The cost of traveling between south Fl and Orlando will also come down over time with specials and discounts from local businesses
Dream on. They will jack up the prices after a while just like every other special deal with private sector we've had in Florida. Just look at these privately funded tolled highways.
And even with transition to electric cars. That will do nothing to solve the traffic problem, which gets worse every year. Another reason train travel will increase.
Its not too much about the cost for me, as I really dislike driving nowadays. The next time I'm in Florida, I wanna spend as little time in a car as possible. It will be awesome to fly into town, and catch the train. The Sun-Rail should be connected to MCO by then too.
I'm a family of 5. As a commuter from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale, a monthly ticket is a huge bargain at $189 a month. But a trip to Orlando with my wife and 3 kids, hands down, our car is way cheaper. Consider as well that we are paying for Park entrance as well. So as 1 person, Brightline is best, family? You might need to do some calculations. But, either way, it's nice to have Brightline around. But prices can be better.
@@mattahmannstill doesn't add up. Like I said, a family of 5 is much cheaper in a private car. An adult traveling on their own is probably cheaper on Brightline. Remember, I have to foot the bill for my wife and kids, and food is not free on the train unless you ride in first class. Then, when I get to Orlando Airport, then what do we do with no car? Like I said,one person, it will work, but a family?? Might not be worth the expense.
@joealmoni4018 Yes, I did. My car takes $52 one way, $104 round trip. I make it to Orlando one way on one tank. I have sun pass, and tolls is about $33 round trip. wear and tare doesn't apply when you drive a single round trip. Wear and tare would matter if I did the trip daily. Hence why I use Brightline daily to go to and from work between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. A daily trip would cost me over $140 a week on tolls and gas. Brightline charges me $189 monthly between those two stations. That's a huge savings. But if I'm going to Universal or Disney with my family, a round trip of $400 + park entrance for each person, food, lodging, car rental, etc... the train is not an option. Like I said. It works for one traveler to Orlando, but a family of 4 or more is not beneficial in any way. This is also why many Florida residents drive and don't fly between Orlando and Miami. It's nice to have the train option there, but as a family, that doesn't work well.
I took Brightline from Orlando to West Palm Beach for a weekend getaway Saturday to Sunday with a friend. We each paid $39.50 each way so only $79 per person, stayed at a Marriott close by in WPB, took an Uber to Worth Avenue for shopping, lunch, people watching, and walked to end of Worth Avenue to beach and took Uber back. One thing this video doesn’t mention is the value of your time. If you drive there isn’t much you can do other than listen to the radio or music. When you take Bright-line you can work on your laptop, watch a video, enjoy the view out the large windows, take a nap, order/eat food without stopping, no wasted time going to gas stations, have a conversation with friends, text, play games, and so much more.
Next time you take the Brightline to West Palm, see if you can take the Circuit, it’s an electric van that goes from the Brightline station to some areas of West Palm for free of course I gave the nice man driving a tip.
It may be cheaper to drive but if people are happy to pay that sum for for a stress free ride that's up to them nobody is forcing them to go by train . If you want to drive its your choice
@@Satjr35031 More than you think cars are expensive, the average American spends 1-2k on vehicle repair and drives 13k miles for that trip it would be around $60 in wear and tear. Also, the more you drive the sooner you'll have to buy a new one.
@@FightclubatgmailI would still drive and put that extra money in my pocket Not worth it by saving 45 minutes What would you do but spend more money getting around Miami
@@Satjr35031 Usually when I take the train I'm visiting friends or family so I spend nothing lol. It's okay if it doesn't work you everyone but it's nice to have multiple options especially one where you don't have to drive. I imagine a lot of traffic accidents would be prevented if people who shouldn't be driving such as old or on medication had a good alternative. Hopefully, there will be a little less traffic now for your sake though
Another thing to note is, not only do you save 40 minutes over driving, you could argue that you save the whole time of the trip because you can get work done or entertain yourself during the trip
This is amazing, I as a tourist next time I go Miami on vacation. Can just take a train to Orlando and visit the parks and then come back on the train without renting a car. This is so good. Nice to see the USA finally catching up to the Asian super powers
You left one little thing out: if you want to drive to Orlando, YOU HAVE TO OWN A CAR FIRST! Given that the average price of a car in the US is ~$39K that's a hell of an initial outlay.
Yeah the car brain in Florida is real. Seriously these are the same people that like to preach about freedom yet pressure everyone into getting a car and driving everywhere... Complete brain rot
I’m pretty sure a car drive is faster since you can drive directly to your destination. I’ve driven from Gainesville to Ft. Lauderdale in 4 hours. There is hardly any wear and tear on a one-time trip. Driving a car is way cheaper. A ticket for this train is $108. I still would have to drive 90 minutes to Orlando to catch the train and then 90 minutes back home. My car is almost 20 years old. I’ve changed the tires once and get an oil change once every 5 years. No other maintenance costs.
The thing is though the bright line is for people that come in to the state and don't necessarily have a car. This isn't for residence this is for tourists to get around the state.
The Brightline is a great option. I think it will add more value if it stops in Port Canaveral since many people are flying into Orlando to go on the cruises. The train passes through there anyway, so it would be great to get a stop there.
@@eric3434 Cars are way more dangerous. Brightline is safer for its passengers, and due to it being on a rail, it is very predictable for non passengers.
@@glaxxico907 It's far more dangerous than an Amtrak for the citizen area's it passes thru. Until Brightline stops killing so many people, it should be shut down.
By a car which took extra time and money! That's why the video is a bit misleading. Imagine she arrives, calls for an Uber and gets to her theme park 30 mins later.
It really depends on what you're using the Brightline for. I've flown from Miami International Airport to MCO for $100 back in 2021 with American Airlines. The thing is, I have friends with a car in Orlando, so I have a ride everywhere per say. I've taken the RedCoach bus and they cost about $30 each way, it takes about 4 hours to get there. With stops at some Turnpike stations and FLL. I've also driven there (V8 Dodge Charger) and it took me half a gas tank (9 gallons) and 3 hours to get there. About $30 for half tank in today's prices. Reading some other comments, yes. Taking the Brightline, you don't have to pay attention to the road and traffic. But is $80 really right? Maybe. I think if you're solo traveling maybe. But flying and taking the bus (can) be cheaper funny enough. Because in Orlando, its borderline impossible to be without a car. An Uber cost me $15 to go to Universal Studios and I was by the Orange County Convention Center. I truly think if you have a way to get around Orlando without renting a car or taking your own. Taking the Brightline, Plane or bus makes sense.
probably the worst calculation, Family of 4 (exept if it is only babies/very young kid) can take public transportation usually. and i am pretty sure that the theme parks offer shuttle service from orlando station to the park
Damn it's cheaper to fly from Miami or Ft. Lauderdale if you book the tickets ahead of time. Spirit, as terrible as it is, sometimes offers tickets for $39 depending on the day.
I think it's more about convenience. The only issue I see is when you get to the station, don't you need to rent a car or something? I hope that self driving cars become a thing soon. I personally do no like driving. After 30 minutes, I'm just so over it.
I don’t enjoy driving long distances either or the stress of the toll road and depending which station you’re going to sometimes there’s good public transportation such as I found half a block from the Brightline Miami station there is metro rail, very convenient with going to some stations and an expensive, two dollars I think it was
You gave the cheapest fare in each service. On some trains, they had a one way Smart fare @134.00 (economy) when I checked. Also, if you check bags in Smart service, it's $25.00 each. I'm taking a one way fare in Premium in 9 days from Orlando to West Palm Beach for $229.00. My Uber ride is included in the Premium service (within a 5 mile radius). It's worth it to me but I think a family of four might use the car more. I'm flying into Orlando because of the greater flight choice than West Palm has. I don't have to pay for parking at the airport but I assume that there is parking costs at the airport.
The train operates on dynamic pricing. So if you're seeing higher prices, that means your train is almost sold out or you're booking last minute. You can take up to two 28-in suitcases on the train for free as carry-ons. Brightline has carried over 57,000 passengers to/from Orlando within three weeks of operations.
@@Ven100As stated above, I'm using Brightline in Premium (my 2nd experience with them; my first was West Palm/Miami R/T in Premium); so this isn't a bashing of another option of travel. Even though I spent my career in the airline industry, starting in the 1970s, & flew on passes around the world with family, I still used Amtrak enough to be an Amtrak Select Plus member before COVID hit. I saw the numbers in The Next Miami & they are pretty good for a new service but did notice the load factor has dropped since adding the 15 R/Ts & probably not as many train enthusiasts after the first days of service. Of the Sept. numbers, they sold 17,578 seats out of 34, 560 available seats; more than 50%. October 1-16 had available 88,320 seats & sold 40,219; which left 48,101 unsold seats. Of course, the available seats are if all scheduled trains operated. It's good that the average ticket went up from $84.00 to $91.00 but I imagine that will have to continue to rise to obtain a profit. You probably have noticed on YT videos that the Premium service is usually pretty empty. According to their site, you are allowed 1 personal item & 1 carry-on with Smart fare. A 2nd carry-on or bigger than 28"x22"x14" or heavier than 40lbs. costs $25. I'm quite familiar with ticket pricing & will be interested in seeing how many will be in Premium on my trip. It should be fairly full since I paid $229. vs. $149. unless the Smart seats are heavily booked & they up Premium fares. I wish Brightline the best & am curious if the 15 trains a day are sustainable in the long run.
For those who want to catch up on work, Brightline may be worth it. If you fly, you have to wait until 10,000 feet to pull your laptop out and you may have 15-20 minutes at most to work on what you have to do before they make you put it away for landing.
Very misleading video. You do pay for parking if you leave your car there. She will need an Uber to get to that theme park or anywhere from the train station. She also did not get there faster if you axxou t for your time to get from your house to the train, the train ride ans then the destination from the train. Also, with a somewhat moden car, you are spending less in gas for a round trip and tolls then you would for a single ride and parking. One last note, since the stations are connected to an airport, you also have to deal woth that traffic.
I’ve taken the city bus from the station for two dollars. Sometimes taking the car is not a decision if you cannot drive for some reason or are too stressed and driving in a major city that you do not know or take medication for some reason.
I left from Orlando station on a Saturday and the BL parking garage C was full so had to drive to the Economy lot and then shuttle back to terminal C which is connected to the train station. This parking problem took me an hour so missed my train and had to take the next one, so total time due to the full parking garage made my trip to the FT Lauderdale station 6.5 hours. This was 3 hours slower than if I drove so until they fix the parking problem at the Orlando station, skip the train. Also, parking at Terminal C Orlando for BL passengers is $19 a day which is 3 times higher than other BL lot which makes the Orlando station expensive if one begins their travel from it.
Tell Brightline to do the same analysis on the trip from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas or the other way around. The $400 suggested price is stupidly expensive. I'd rather fly.
Even in places with better and cheaper intercity transit driving is still cheaper if you have a full car but if you look at the cars on the road so many only have one person.
This would be a $13 trip in gas in my Toyota Sienna Hybrid. Not to mention basically nothing in wear and tear because its all highway and an extremely reliable vehicle. He's rught, time is money, and me saving $50-$100 for an extra 30-60 minutes of driving is a lot of money per hour.
Agreed. My Rav4 hybrid has no baggage restrictions and would cost me $15 on the trip, round-trip for me and mu wife. No way I’m paying $300 for a train. That’s a full day of work for me.
We are a family of 5 and Brightline IS NOT the cheapest option. Granted you don’t have to deal with traffic or a long drive but we still need a car when we get to our destination. Easily $500 when it’s all said and done.
It sometimes is a lot cheaper than $500 for family of five they often have specials where parents take a child or two for free or half price. Just look at their website and get on the email list. Some people like driving, no matter what and it might be more convenient in some examples but it’s good to have choices.
Cheaper to take train for 1-2 when you figure wear and tear on vehicle. But it’s also much safer and you’re not tired from the drive. Plus it’s unknown if there’s a road closure
@@ncard00 You don't think a person can stick to a train? Just curious if that person they splattered this morning got hosed off or what? Did they just keep right on truckin?
Florida's roads are among the most dangerous for any life! be it animals,pedestrians,cars,bicyclists,or trains! btw Brightline ridership has had 0 deaths.
@@joealmoni4018 Who said anything about passengers being killed? If you were anywhere else in the 1st world you would not even be having this conversation, because well run trains are not built on the cheap and it's taken for granted that they are safe for everyone, passengers and public alike.
There is room for improvement. More public money will only be spent if there is a demand for the service. Brightline proves that, by transporting over 5 million passengers. @@Shytot-1
It's still cheaper and gets you to your destination lot faster than having to drive by car which in fact you have to stop for gas+having to stop by every light+making turns by car before finally making it to your destination. Train is faster.
We did the math for a trip from orlando to miami for a cruise for my spouse and I. It was way cheaper to drive. We would have to either drive to the airport and pay for parking for a week plus pay $79x2 there AND back or pay for an uber from the house to the airport and the train station in miami to the cruise port. Plus getting the baggage through all of those transfers from the house to the uber to the train to the uber to the port ....it makes zero sense to me. We found that mileage and tolls included we could drive down the night before, stay in a hotel, and park at the cruise terminal for considerably less than taking the brightline. I get the appeal ...and if i lived in europe and could take cheap convenient reliable trains everywhere i totally would.
Brightline is actually slower than a car. It takes 3:30 hours from Miami to Orlando but you have to add 30 minutes to get to the station in Miami and another 30 minutes to get from the Orlando station to wherever you're going. That makes the total 4:30 hours.
@@Cassie4486 those are the same 30 minutes you could count towards going to Orlando or towards finding where to park in downtown Miami, dragging your stuff to the train station, setting your stopwatch to zero, and starting your trip.
Brightline missed the ball on this one. Here’s how to generate 30-50% more riders. Make it 49.95 for general or 39.00 even better watch how packed it gets. Now I won’t even consider it because it’s still 3 hours lol. Then 3 hours back better off filling my car for 50.00 I can drive to orlando and back off that! I did my own survey and every one agrees because of the time is almost the same as driving but cost more money no need to ride the train. So bright line executives I hope you read this adjust your prices maybe even for certain times certain trains. Also a bus ticket is like 39-49 and those coaches are comfortable.
What if the train can go faster say up to 200miles per hour and 30-50% lower in cost per miles like the rest of the world? Just US train technology is not up to world standard.
Brightline is a joke. Late running trains, skyrocketing fares, numerous fatalities, rude employees and customer service which doesn't give a damn. Did I leave anything out?
Ok, you made it to the train station....Now what?.....Also, is the train subsidized by the tax payers?.....If its anything like Amtrak then it's a yes!
Let me see with my car I can go everywhere in the city when I get there with brightline only to where they stop at after that what?. From the airport to a Disney, Universal and other parks. Can they take you to the beach, restaurants, shopping centers. I'm for brightline . But I drive instead. If I have friends and families in a city
I have driven Tampa/NYC close to 15 times.(thru PA: no tolls). Having your own wheels at your disposal 24/7 is priceless. The $ for Air, hotel, and rental direct to NYC came out the same as a two day drive r/t, hotels on the road,gas, and food. I'm disabled, so door to door for me. 40 minutes? That's all? Man, see ya on the Reagan.
🚨🚨 So these two buffoons aren’t going to discuss & calculate what tool one would have to use not just for what they discussed, transportation to and from brightline tracks, but what you will have to use to get around everywhere for the totality of one’s trip ?!? If you’re going from MIA TO MCO ( or vice versa ) for a multiple day trip/ vacation and will clearly need a mode of transportation for that multi day trip to go wherever your trip was planned for, along for the miscellaneous variable stops, then the cost of not taking a car is much higher. 🚨🚨
@@SetheMan True. Having said that, Brightline takes a longer trip since it takes the long way from the airport to Cocoa before running down the coast. On the other hand, it runs faster and has more amenities.
@@DTD110865 actually I checked the travel time from Miami to Orlando on Amtrack and it takes over 6 hours (Brightline can do that in almost half the time), the benefit that Amtrack has over Brightline is their private rooms that many people desire.
Yeah, taking the train, a fast and efficient one like Brightline, is way better than driving. Once folks discover how awesome train rides can be, they definitely going cut down their driving.
Florida pushes petrol like they pump it out the ground. As soon as my job started paying my train fair I stopped driving. I sold my car AND my motorcycle. NOTHING, NOTHING beats the price of not having headaches exhaustion & road rage from driving. You can’t put a price on that.
Better to drive if you legitimately live in SoFlo/Miami and are visiting Orlando. The cost of renting a car could add $50-100 a day easily and similar to Uber/Lyft around. If you're at a resort, use the free shuttles verses paying to park.
Garbage: Can't use the mileage rate from the IRS. Not accurate. Also, most people will rent a car when they get to Orlando. Main advantage of Brightline is not having the stress of 3.5 hours of driving on I-95 and/or the Turnpike. Can sit back and relax! Also, most people actually can't make the drive in 3.5 hours because they have to stop for bathroom breaks, coffee, lunch, etc.
@@gnnascarfan2410 Maybe the train was operating unsafely. Might have to look into the operating logs and the speed limits for that particular stretch of track. Might have to delve into the background of the conductor etc. Might have to look into the maintenance records for that train. People are dead, and people must be made whole.
@@jameylane1591 You really shouldn't though. A person trespassed illegally on the track and broke the law. End of story. Their foolish actions resulted in their own death, end of story.
@@jameylane1591None of the 99 deaths involving the trains have been Brightline’s fault, including the one yesterday, so please spill facts when commenting instead of fake news.
@@RenTheGreat I can get from UCF to Boca Raton and back in one weekend on a tank of gas for $55, it’ll cost $158 just to buy a round trip ticket, that’s enough gas for me to get all the way to Gatlinburg Tennessee if I wanted. Idk what the deal with the rail pass is, if it’s $500 for access to 40 tickets you can use at any point during the year then it’s definitely worth the cost, but if I have to use those 40 trips within a month then I don’t think it’s worth it, I will say though this will be extremely nice for tourists who wanna see the state.
@@yoland5837 Depends on who’s using it such as it sounds like the cars the better choice for you. For me who doesn’t like to drive the toll road causes too much stress, and for some other people I know who have poor vision or take medicine or lost their peripheral vision the train is the better choice to see relatives and the tourist sites.
Really stupid comparison when there was no mention of driving on Florida highways, with so many nut jobs on the road, an accident is possible. Train much safer was not even mentioned. I’m sure kids would love riding a train than a boring drive. Not a good comparison at all. Where do they get these news reporters from I’ll never know.
This is a paid ad by the company. Now, once you get to orlando now, lets do the cost for simply moving around or are you going to walk everywhere in the heat and as they say, time is money!
It’s about the experience, and for people who don’t care about cost benefit efficiency, and the cheapest possible mode of transportation, and for buisness people, time is money, so with a round trip, they can work 7 hours on the train, which they couldn’t if they were driving or flying. And if people had to pay for the co2 emissions they produce when driving and flying, which they should, Brightline would be a much better value. And you also have to pay for owning the car, repairs, monthly and annual fees, and buying that car upfront in the first place. In europe, many people don’t need to own a car, cause public transportation and cycling is so good, not quite where the US is yet, but you gotta start somewhere.
@@jameylane1591Of course they will, traffic won’t get better, same with flying, and cars will just get more and more expensive in the long run, cause of climate change, noise, pollution, traffic, and so on.
I can almost guarantee that people who ask “which is cheaper?” are people who have never experienced the luxury of hopping on a high speed train in Asia or Europe (especially Japan). Once you experience it you’ll never go back to driving for 3-4 hours and dealing with traffic or construction, or dealing with the TSA, flight delays due to weather, waiting two hours to board a flight, and baggage claim.
You’re right. I’ve traveled on trains all around the world and I wouldn’t ask which one is cheaper. For me, going from Boca or Ft Lauderdale to Orlando is FAR cheaper by car. My car (a CUV) gets 40mpg. It’s 207 miles to Disney or 3.5 hours. That’s about $15 on gas (round trip) for two people. Then not having to pay for an Uber or parking at the origin or paying for Uber at destination and having the ability to buy groceries or go out without additional Uber rides. It saves me HUNDREDS of dollars. No question. No TSA, no schedules, no baggage restrictions… full freedom.
