The southern expansion of SunRail is rolling out next week at four new stations in Meadow Woods, Tupperware, downtown Kissimmee and Poinciana.
John Mica, former central Florida congressman and chair of the house transportation committee, said this expansion has "better ridership numbers per mile than the northern section."
Volusia county was not part of this expansion and Mica said Volusia county officials did not respond in time to be involved in the SunRail expansion.
"Phase two was done just the southern portion from Sandlake Road to Poinciana. They'll eventually build that, but they're going to have to come in at some other point as part of the system," Mica said.
The airport is another expansion SunRail is eyeing.
"It's a leg at the airport. The intermodal center which is now open is ready to serve that. It's all set up to serve SunRail and two other modes," Mica said.
In three years, control of SunRail transfers from the government to local officials. Mica said funding should not be an issue for local officials.
"Everybody needs to step up to the plate. You can't just build facilities. You've got to also have a way to support people getting to and from them," Mica said.
He said SunRail needs to do a better job of promoting.
"They're going to see construction on I-4 for the next decade and people need to get out of their cars, get on SunRail and SunRail needs to get better service. They need to connect it better with the buses and provide that last mile and link and the link into the airport is critical."