| Miami-Dade Transit | |
|---|---|
Metrorail (top), Metromover (middle), and Metrobus (bottom) at Government Center |
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| Info | |
| Locale | Greater Miami |
| Transit type | Rapid transit, Downtown people mover, bus rapid transit, transit bus |
| Number of lines | 2 Metrorail lines 3 Metromover loops 90 Metrobus routes 1 bus rapid transit line |
| Number of stations | Miami Central Station Government Center 23 (Metrorail) |
| Daily ridership | 391,000+ daily |
| Chief executive | Ysela Llort (Interim Director) |
| Headquarters | 701 NW 1st Court Miami, Florida, 33132 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | August 2, 1960[1] |
| Operator(s) | Miami-Dade Transit |
| Number of vehicles | 893 buses 136 Metrorail cars 42 Metromover cars |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) |
Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) is the primary public transit authority of Miami, Florida, United States and the greater Miami-Dade County area. It is the largest transit system in Florida and the 14th-largest transit system in the United States.[2]
MDT operates the rapid transit Metrorail, the Downtown Metromover people mover, Metrobus, and Paratransit (STS) systems. Metrorail is composed of two rail lines (Green and Orange lines) with 23 stations radiating from the city center towards outlying neighborhoods north and south of Downtown. Metromover operates throughout the Downtown and Brickell neighborhoods, and is composed of three rail loops and 22 stations. Metrobus operates over 110 routes, including the South Dade Busway.[3] MDT's main transit stations are Government Center in Downtown, and the new Miami Central Station in Grapeland Heights, near Miami International Airport.[4]
As of 2011, MDT has a daily passenger ridership of 336,067, and accounts for over 15% of Miamians' daily transportation. MDT has seen growing passenger ridership since 1998, with ridership increasing 79% since then. The opening of the new Metrorail Orange Line in April 2012 is expected to significantly increase usage of the system.[5] Although not under the control of MDT, Tri-Rail is Miami's commuter rail system, and connects Miami to suburbs north to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.[6]
Currently, the Interim Director of the authority is Ysela Llort. The MDT headquarters are located in the Overtown Transit Village in Downtown Miami.[7]
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In 1960, the Dade County Commission passed an ordinance creating the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to unify the different transit operations into one countywide service. This ordinance provided for the purchase, development, and operation of an adequate mass transit system by the County. These companies included the Miami Transit Company, Miami Beach Railway Company, South Miami Coach Lines, and Keys Transit Company on Key Biscayne and would be managed by National City Management Company. Over the years and under various administrations, MTA evolved into the Metro-Dade Transportation Administration, the Metro-Dade Transit Agency, the Miami-Dade Transit Agency, and is now known simply as Miami-Dade Transit (MDT).
Miami-Dade Transit, a county department of more than 4,000 employees, is the largest transit agency in the state of Florida and accounts for more than half of the trips taken on public transit in the state. MDT operates an accessible, integrated system of 100-plus Metrobus routes; the 22-mile (35 km) Metrorail rapid transit system; Metromover, a free downtown people mover system; and the Paratransit division’s Special Transportation Service. Metrobus routes cover more than 35-million miles annually, including limited service to Broward and Monroe counties. In 2004, MDT's Metrorail, Metromover, and Metrobus transported more than 96 million passengers, compared to 85 million the previous year.
Miami-Dade Transit is undergoing a federal investigation by the Federal Transit Administration that includes several audits and a criminal investigation of the transit agency due to concerns over money mismanagement within the agency.[8] This caused a freezing of federal funds being granted to the county agency. In late 2010 the county manager claimed that it was 'not fraud' but rather accounting errors, poor management, and erroneous information given to the auditors that triggered the investigation, including a withdrawal of $15 million through the ECHO program that was made by a transit official two hours after a letter arrived in September 2010 from the FTA telling them withdrawals had been restricted.[9] The investigation and lack of funding let to emergency service cuts to Metrorail, Metrobus, and Metromover being considered by the agency by the middle of 2011, six months into the investigation and lack of funding which began in November 2010, causing MDT to lose $185 million in grant money. Assistant county manager Ysela Llort became responsible for Miami-Dade Transit after director Harpal Kapoor left in April 2011. Additionally, funding for the Metrorail airport link was jeopardized by the funding freeze. The FTA decided to continue funding under strict control in order to keep service cuts from happening.[10]
The "EASY Card" system is a regional fare collection system with interoperable smartcards and equipment. The following information is specific to Miami-Dade Transit:
Since October 1, 2009, Miami-Dade Transit has used the EASY Card system[11] for fare collection.
On December 13, 2009 paper-based bus transfers were discontinued, and bus-to-bus transfers are now free only when using an EASY Card or EASY Ticket.
The current standard fare is $2 and reduced fare is $1. A standard monthly pass costs $100 and $50 for reduced fare. The monthly Metropass is loaded onto the EASY Card. Turnstile equipment at all Metrorail stations does not accept any type of cash,[11] and require an EASY Card or Ticket to both enter and exit the boarding area.
Reduced fares are available only to Medicare recipients, people with disabilities, and Miami-Dade students in grades 1-12.
All Miami-Dade senior citizens aged 65 years and older and with Social Security benefits ride free with a Golden Passport pass. Veterans residing in Miami-Dade and earning less than $22,000 annually ride free with the Patriot Passport pass.
In February 2011, Miami-Dade Transit ridership totaled 336,067 passengers, including all Metrorail, Metromover and Metrobus lines. With a population of about 2.5 million in Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit accounts for 15% of the population's daily mode of transportation. Note: This figure does not include Tri-Rail, Miami's commuter rail operator.
Daily passenger ridership averages
| Year | Metrobus | Metrorail[14] | Metromover | Total ridership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 207,048 | 44,871 | 13,269 | 265,188 |
| 1999 | 209,111 | 46,774 | 13,880 | 269,765 |
| 2000 | 212,927 | 47,256 | 14,383 | 274,566 |
| 2001 | 211,823 | 46,664 | 16,849 | 275,336 |
| 2002 | 204,941 | 47,064 | 16,444 | 268,449 |
| 2003 | 215,306 | 51,248 | 25,521 | 292,076 |
| 2004 | 234,109 | 55,294 | 28,192 | 317,595 |
| 2005 | 246,023 | 59,700 | 28,473 | 334,195 |
| 2006 | 259,375 | 58,358 | 27,042 | 344,775 |
| 2007 | 264,467 | 59,708 | 28,058 | 352,233 |
| 2008 | 259,018 | 63,710 | 26,682 | 349,410 |
| 2009 | 233,858 | 59,992 | 25,883 | 319,733 |
| 2010 | 227,883 | 59,900 | 27,175 | 314,958 |
| February 2011 | 243,878 | 65,300 | 29,878 | 336,067 |
Metrorail is an elevated rapid transit heavy rail system similar to a subway train that has one 22.4 mi (36 km) main line from Hialeah to Kendall and an under construction line known as the Airport Link to Miami International Airport.
Metromover is a free, elevated, automated mass transit people mover that runs on three loops: the Downtown Inner Loop, Brickell Loop, and the Omni Loop. The systems totals 4.4 miles with 22 stations at roughly every two blocks in the greater Downtown area. Metromover serves the neighborhoods of Downtown, Brickell, Omni, Park West, and Overtown.
| Locale | Miami, Florida |
|---|---|
| Service type | bus service, bus rapid transit |
| Routes | 90 |
| Fleet | 900+ |
| Daily ridership | 293,000 [15] |
| Operator | Miami-Dade Transit |
The Metrobus network provides bus service throughout Miami-Dade County 365 days a year. It consists of about 90 routes and 900 buses, which connect most points in the county and part of southern Broward County as well. Seven of these routes operate around the clock: Routes 3, 11, 27, 38, 77, L (No 24 hour Hialeah service)and S. Routes 246 Night Owl & Route 500 Midnight Owl operate from 12am to 5am. Most other routes operate from 5 AM to 11 PM. All Metrobuses are wheelchair accessible, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Bus route 301 (Dade-Monroe Express) extends into Monroe County, reaching Marathon, where a transfer is available to a Key West Transit bus proceeding further into the Keys. With the appropriate bus transfers, one can travel all the way from Key West to Jupiter entirely on public-transit buses.
The South Miami-Dade Busway (originally the South Dade Busway) began operating on February 3, 1997 and was extended in April 2005. The final 6.5-mile (10.5 km) segment of the Busway extension to Florida City opened on Sunday, December 16, 2007. It is parallel to US1/ S Dixie Highway, and replaced an abandoned Florida East Coast Railroad line. It is an alternative to daily traffic congestion. The 13-mile (21 km) roadway was built by the Florida Department of Transportation just for Metrobus routes and emergency vehicles. Express buses on the exclusive lanes shuttle passengers to and from Dadeland South Station (see Metrorail) in under 40 minutes.
Both full-size buses and minibuses operate on the Busway and in adjacent neighborhoods, entering the exclusive lanes at major intersections. Local and limited-stop service is offered between Florida City and Dadeland South Metrorail Station. Park & Ride lots along the busway are located at SW 152d Street (Coral Reef Drive), SW 168th Street (Richmond Drive), SW 200th Street (Caribbean Boulevard), SW 244th Street, and SW 296th Street. At Dadeland South Station, riders transfer to Metrorail. Riders headed downtown can transfer from Metrorail to Metromover, which consists of three shorter downtown loops, at Government Center Station.
The South Miami-Dade Busway features 28 stops, all of which have been converted to light-rail style stations. A multi-use path stretches the length of the Busway.
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The Busway has been the site of many accidents, as some car drivers driving south on US-1 (which runs parallel to the Busway for much of its length), and looking to turn west, do not stop at the red arrows that govern the right turn lane at an intersection that has a Busway crossing adjacent to it. They make a right turn and go right into the path of a bus that is entering the adjacent Busway intersection. Buses currently have to slow down to 15 mph (24 km/h) before crossing the intersection, and the police often patrol the intersections looking for red arrow runners. Surprisingly, even the intersections where the Busway runs as far as 2 blocks west of US-1 suffer the same problem, with car drivers either not seeing or flatly ignoring the red lights at SW 184th and 186th Streets. City planners and residents alike have commented that rather than dismantling the former Florida East Coast Railroad line for the busway, the Metrorail system could have been extended southward over the railway line.
Paratransit/Special Transportation Services (STS) is available for people with a mental or physical disability that cannot ride Metrobus, Metrorail, or Metromover. For $3.00 per one-way trip, STS offers shared-ride, door-to-door travel in accessible vehicles throughout most of Miami-Dade County, in some parts of south Broward County, and in the middle and northern Keys . STS operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including most holidays.
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