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In today’s newsletter:
🚆 Brightline ridership jumped 18% in September, even as parent companies work through bankruptcy
🎃 Worth the Drive events this weekend: Buddy Guy at the Kravis Center, Halloween in the District, Golden Girls
💧 The Last Drop: Florida gas holds near $4.08, Blue Origin plans $330M Florida expansion
Ja'Min Devon
Founder, Sunland News
🟠 Main Squeeze: Brightline ridership jumped 18% in September
We covered the bankruptcy filing back in September and now there is an update worth paying attention to 🚆.
Despite multiple Brightline parent entities filing for Chapter 11 in late September, the train line posted its best ridership numbers in a while. September traffic was up 18% compared to the same month last year. The operating company that actually runs the trains was not part of the bankruptcy filing and has kept running without interruption.
The September numbers 📋:
🚆 September ridership up 18% year over year
👥 2.6 million total passengers through the first nine months of 2026, up 14% from the same period in 2025
🛤️ Short haul regional ridership in South Florida surpassed 1 million, up 18%
✈️ Long haul ridership between South Florida and Orlando exceeded 1.5 million, up 14%
💵 Average short haul fare: $22.25, down 7% from last year
💵 Average long haul fare to Orlando: $72.17, down 6% from last year
🌴 89% of September passengers were Florida residents
What is still happening on the financial side: The restructuring agreement that brings $490 million in new financing from existing creditors still needs to be approved by a bankruptcy court judge in New Jersey. A hearing is scheduled for October 29th.
The Stuart station situation: Still no firm timeline. The restructuring does not kill those plans but it does not move them forward either. That question is still very much open 👀.
🥳 WTF (Worth The Drive) Events: October 23 to 25
Friday, October 23
Saturday, October 24
🦇 Halloween in the District, Eau Gallie Square Park, Eau Gallie Arts District, Melbourne. 4:30PM to 8PM, hayrides, spooky vendors, trick or treating, and a costume contest. Details
🕯️ Candlelight: A Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics, First Presbyterian Church of West Palm Beach. 6:30PM. Details
🎸 Buddy Guy 90 Tour, Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. 7:30PM. Details
Sunday, October 25
😂 Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. 2PM. Details
Send More Events Here
💧 The Last Drop: Local Shopping & Florida Money
🛒 Publix BOGO prices mostly hold steady – A USA TODAY Network check of 10 former BOGO items found regular prices matched the stated “savings” in five cases. Ketchup and Sunset tomatoes rose, while bread and chicken dropped. Details
⛽ Florida gas holds near $4.08 – AAA says the state average dipped a penny from last week, but diesel above $6 and oil back over $100 a barrel could push prices higher. Monroe County is highest at $4.39. Details
🚀 Blue Origin plans $330M Florida expansion – The company will add two launch and landing pads at Cape Canaveral and expand its Rocket Park campus to build up to 150 upper stages a year, targeting multiple New Glenn flights per week by 2030. Details
🎃 Airheads is Florida’s standout Halloween candy – DoorDash data shows Reese’s peanut butter cups remain the top national seller, but Florida orders Airheads at a higher rate than the rest of the country. Details
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