Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
New Tri-Rail director is a familiar face in Palm Beach County
To attend Palm Beach County government meetings, County Commissioner Steven Abrams takes the unpopular way: Tri-Rail.
Most people commuting from Boca Raton to West Palm Beach drive their cars. But Abrams, having grown up riding trains and subways in Philadelphia, has become an evangelist for public transportation. And that zeal has led him to his newest post: executive director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, the board that oversees Tri-Rail, the coastal commuter rail line that runs from West Palm Beach to Miami.
In June, he stepped down as chairman of the authority’s board so he could compete for the top post.
“I’m a regular rider,” Abrams, 59, said Friday. “I take it any day I’m working out of my Delray Beach or West Palm Beach offices. I’ve been dedicated to the mission for many years.”
Abrams is a former mayor of Boca Raton elected twice to the Palm Beach County Commission. His final term expires next month. He could not run again because of term limits.
The transportation agency’s current director, Jack Stephens, retires from the $260,000 job at the end of December. Tri-Rail began a national search to replace Stephens in July. Abrams said his salary is still being negotiated.
Abrams said he is especially proud of Tri-Rail’s on time performance numbers. The trains were running on schedule 96.6 percent of the time during a recent audit, the best performance since the rail service started in 1989.
Tri-Rail travels its northsouth route every day, with 50 trains each day Monday through Friday and 30 trains each on Saturday, Sunday and holidays.
Nearly 16,000 people ride the commuter line on the average weekday during the school year. Abrams said he wants to increase ridership and expand the number of stations. A downtown Miami station is scheduled to open next year.