Riders using the Tri-Rail transport system will see a different schedule and no fares in the coming days amid a decline in daily ridership based off the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
South Florida Regional Transit Authority Executive Director Steven Abrams announced the changes on Friday, which will see an 18-train schedule offered on weekdays starting at 4:17 a.m. and a 12-train schedule on weekends starting at 5:17 a.m. with no fares each day.
“We are committed to staying up and running for health care workers and others in our community who need to get to essential jobs, as well as those who have no other means of transportation during this trying time,” Abrams wrote in a statement. “Suspending fares will protect passengers and the officers who check tickets by minimizing contact between them. This just a temporary measure as we wait for the pandemic to pass and our lives return to normal.”
Tri-Rail trains will run on a two-hour schedule during weekdays and a three hour schedule on the weekend. The decision to change schedules comes as Tri-Rail has experienced a 60 percent drop in ridership this past week as opposed to the first week of March.
Officials say future decisions will be monitored based in coordination with state and county agencies in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The decision comes after Brightline announced it was suspending its high-speed rail line service amid the growing pandemic.
