‘Rather fly spirit’: Floridian calls out new Brightline train for being too slow and expensive
It may surprise many to discover that there is a train service that connects multiple Florida cities. Sadly, one man says it is entirely impractical and you should probably just drive.
In a viral TikTok with over 92,000 views as of Monday, user Reece Logan (@reeceloganmedia) does a short skit pretending to be speaking to a friend to show how the service doesn’t make much sense.
“All right, we got Orlando this weekend, don’t have to drive three hours to get there,” he begins in the clip. “We got the Brightline now.”
The TikToker, expecting the train ride to shave time off of the commute, then asks how long it would take.
"Like, three hours," he responds, pretending to be another character with cool sunglasses.
"No I don't mean the drive there," he says. "I mean how long is it going to take on the train?"
He imagines the train runs at faster speeds than a car. He is shocked to discover it isn't much faster.
"At least three hours," his character responds. "I mean, there might be some stops."
Exasperated, Reece changes focus to the price of the ticket for the train. Assuredly, it must be cheaper than driving or flying, he says.
"Ok, it sounds like the tickets were pretty cheap then, how much did we spend?" he asks.
When he discovers it costs about $160 bucks one way, which he says is "twice as much as gas," he concludes the train is probably a bad idea.
@reeceloganmedia Not too bright ???? #onlyindade #onlyinbroward #southflorida #miami #orlando #brightline ♬ original sound - Reece Logan
The Brightline train opened up to commuters in 2018 and operates between Miami and Orlando. The train also makes stops at West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Aventura. It has a maximum speed of 125 miles per hour, which is faster than a car. However, it still takes over three hours to complete the trip between Orlando and Miami one way. According to the website, a one-way ticket costs $79 and it is $149 to upgrade to first class.
In the comments section, many expressed disappointment over the cost of the service and how long the commute takes.
"I was so excited for this," one user commented. "Rather fly spirit and it take me 30 minutes to get there and cheaper."
"I was willing to deal with everything else but the price is insane," user @LuckyBuckyLu commented. "Way too high for it to be a feasible option."
"I took a 2-hour train from Connecticut to NYC for $17!" another user said. "Now that is what trains should cost."
The Daily Dot reached out to Reece Logan via TikTok comment and Brightline by email for comment.
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