HOW THE POST GOT THE STORY
Twelve Palm Beach Post reporters over six weeks took rides on the Brightline to count the number of passengers who got on at one stop and off at the only other stop.
In its first three month of operation, the company ran 22 trains a day Monday to Thursday, 24 trains on Friday, and 20 trains Saturday and Sunday. In all, Brightline’s schedule offered 44 different trips a week between its two stations in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The company revised its train schedule on Saturday in preparation for its Miami extension.
The Post reporters rode at least one train in each time slot, or about 5 percent of Brightline trains over the six-week period. The trains were selected at random.
For example, a Brightline train departed the West Palm Beach station at 6 a.m. every weekday. Post reporters rode one 6 a.m. train on a single day. The reporters did not count passengers on every 6 a.m. train on all the other days of the week.
The Post used this same method — counting passengers on a single train in a given time slot — for all 44 trains.
Post reporters traveled as passengers, paying for tickets in Select class, and walked through every car to count passengers. They did not disclose their purpose.
The reporters riding the rails were Brightline beat writer Jennifer Sorentrue, data reporter Mahima Singh and staff writers Carol Rose, Carolyn DiPaolo, Kenny Jacoby, Leslie Gray Streeter, Mark Bradley, Olivia Hitchcock, Sonja Isger, Susan Salisbury, Tom Peeling and Greg Lovett.