The Palm Beach Post sent reporters onto Brightline trains to get an idea of ridership over a six week period.

Reporters counted passengers on 44 trains, including every day of the week, and at various times throughout the day from early morning to late night.

On average, there were 50 passengers per train, or 20 percent of seats occupied, the Post wrote. If that number is accurate, it would mean over 30,000 passengers per month.

Brightline has said that ridership has tripled expectations.

Once the Miami station comes on line, the company thinks passenger count will rapidly multiply. The forecast provided to bond investors calls for 2.9 million passengers by 2020, or over 240,000 passengers per month.

It also appears that more riders than expected are opting to pay for the more expensive Select Service. Of 240 seats on a train, just 20 percent are Select Class seats, but 44 percent of passengers have been paying to ride Select.

(photo:brightline)