Archive for the 'Miami-Dade Transit' Category

Transit Fare Hikes Delayed

Published
by
Sean Bossinger
on June 18, 2008
in Farecard, Larry Lebowitz, MDTA, Metrorail, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit, Transit and metrobus
. 1 Comment

Larry Lebowitz, Miami Herald Transportation reporter, wrote last night in breaking news that the Miami-Dade Commissioners delayed their vote for a $0.50 hike in bus and train fares for Miami-Dade Transit.  According to Lebowitz, the deferral puts more pressure on the mayor and the transit agency to find solutions to the current cash crunch faced by the agency, as well as to determine what promises can be salvaged from the 2002 People’s Transportation Plan campaign.

Also, in the article, Bruno Barreiro, the chair of the Commission, indicated that he is not against bringing a repeal of the $0.005 surtax, if any plans that would be forthcoming from the mayor and the transit agency were devoid of concrete plans on how to expand Metrorail as indicated in the original ballot initiative.

While the delay may mean a short-term gain for the increasing numbers of consumers of these services, it only puts off the pain of balancing the books into the future – if, in fact, this increase will balance them.

Unfortunately for those of us who do use transit, the demand elasticity just usually isn’t there for us to be able to choose an alternate means of conveyance.  Especially with gasoline and diesel approaching, in some areas, $5.00 per gallon, many of us who use transit will take the fare hike in stride, and continue to use the services.  $2.00 a ride, depending on length, isn’t all that bad, and it is in line with the single-rider fare of other major metropolitain areas.

Where the commission should watch out, however, is with the price of the Metropass.  A fare hike from $75 to $100 will put the price of the pass out of reach of many of those who buy it, and might discourage companies that currently pay for part or all of their employee’s commute from keeping this benefit.  Also of note here is that a $100 monthly pass will put the cost of this pass at or near the top of the list nationwide.

Transit Privatization

Published
by
JM Palacios
on June 17, 2008
in MDT, Miami-Dade Transit and PTP
. 6 Comments

Rethinking Transit

A reconstruction could be brewing for Miami-Dade Transit. Commissioner Javier D. Souto wrote an open letter last week discussing the issues that have arisen with the People’s Transportation Plan. Somehow the Miami Herald has ignored it in their series so far, but the South Florida Business Journal covered the letter. Souto begins by discussing the importance of mass transit in the day of $4/gallon gasoline and the continued difficulty with getting people out of their cars into an inconvenient transit alternative. After going on about the problems we have, he proposes a radical idea: privatize transit.

Souto starts the paragraph by saying, “if the desire is to make a profitable transit system…” This is where I imagine his whole paragraph must be sarcasm. Then I remember that there are still those who are convinced that transit should be funding itself, and those people would desire to make a profit from a transit system. So, Souto (or anyone else), if that is your desire, quench it. Transportation is not profitable. Period. Government subsidizes every aspect of it, from roads to railroads to bus systems to Metrorail. It’s a subject worthy of an entire post, so let’s just make it clear that profit should not be the goal of any transit system. Not unless we have a major paradigm shift to also make a profit with roads…

Regardless of motive, privatizing transit is not unheard of. The original streetcars in the US were all privately owned and operated. Unfortunately, that made it easier for them to fold as the automobile became the preferred mode of transportation in this country. The same thing happened with intercity passenger rail, and only a subsidized Amtrak is left standing. Those systems failed because their goal was to make a profit.

Today we have brought mass transit under government subsidy, and we have developed Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) that maintain governmental control and regulation. The I-595 project is a good example, as a private company will design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the improvements, while FDOT maintains control over things like standards and tolls. FDOT will not be turning a profit from the system, either. The toll FDOT collects will not be sufficient to pay off the concessionaire company for building it, so they will be using other budgeted funds to pay for it. Profit is the motivator for the private company, of course, but not for the government agency. Transit could work the same way. A private company could design, build, and finance Metrorail improvements, while operating and maintaining the existing and future system. The county would still have to control things like fares and basic standards.

That brings us to the biggest problem. Someone responsible would still have to manage a PPP. Until the county takes some major steps in the right direction, we would not have the confidence for them to direct a PPP any better than they have the current state of affairs. Could a PPP have any success in Miami-Dade Transit? Perhaps. Privatization might boost the confidence that transit can be managed properly (or it might not), but alone it is not sufficient to solve the woes of the People’s Transportation Plan. And it most definitely will not solve any financial woes. No profit will come to the government from such a privatization. Do you hear that, all you profit-minded capitalists?

 

Photo by Flickr user ImageMD. 

The week in transit

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on May 29, 2008
in Barbara Jordan, Bruno Barreiro, CITT, MDX, Metromover, Miami Commission, Miami Dade, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit, PTP, Tri-Rail, Trolley, US Department of Transportation, Urban Planning and Urban Transit
. 14 Comments

A lot happened this week behind the scenes and between the lines. Here is a review:

Kudos to this editorial today from El Nuevo Herald columnist Daniel Shoer Roth. I think he did an excellent job in highlighting how mismanaged our transit system is. Accountability goes out the window when ten different departments and municipalities are ‘responsible’ for certain aspects of mass transit. I’m always talking about how our system is ‘mismanaged’ but that really isn’t the case at all. It’s a question of priorities, and transit has not historically been one of them.

Our planning priorities were on full display this past weekend in an insert produced by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) that the Herald included in its Sunday edition. The insert describes work done to date and future projects. If you are not familiar with the MPO, it is a County run organization that is charged with coordinating the various transportation projects around Miami-Dade, as required by Federal Department of Transportation rules. Their mandate is described on their website is:

“…to have a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process that results in plans and programs that consider all transportation modes and support metropolitan community development and social goals. These plans and programs shall lead to the development and operation of an integrated, intermodal transportation system that facilitates the efficient, economic movement of people and goods.” (emphasis added)

Many worthy goals, but unfortunately their focus is more on expressway and road building projects than on balancing roads with mass transit. My favorite part of the insert is titled “Miami-Dade: Urban Travel Trends” which utilizes graphs, bright colors, and a lot of traffic engineer lingo (vehicle miles traveled, peak period speeds, etc), with only a brief mention of transit under a graph called ‘Transit Mode Share’. The text accompanying the graph states, “the countywide transit mode share in 2005 was approximately 2.5%” It goes on to say that share will grow, “albeit modestly.” Ok. I find it disillusioning that the organization supposedly responsible for coordinating our transit system is not very optimistic about the future growth of MDT.

Truth be told, after this week’s political farce concerning tranist fares and another half cent tax, I might tend to agree with the MPO. Our future transit does not look so good because the people responsible are alseep at the wheel. Commisioners Bruno and Barbs: wake up!! You have have been reaching in the dark these past few weeks trying to placate your constituents. I know this issue gets heated and personal. Let me be clear: this is not a personal attack. It makes it difficult for those of us who are transit advocates and who supported the first tax increase to justify anything you ask for now because of how the money has been squandered. Surely you can understand that. Next week I am going to work on a series of posts on how the People’s Transportation Tax has been spent to bring to light how that opportunity has been, and continues to be, botched.
If you really care about transit, and Commissioner Jordan I think you care about getting the Orange Line built, here are a few recommendations that can serve as confidence building measures that might make any fare or tax increase palatable:

  • Make the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust the sole entity responsible for deciding what happens to that money. Give it back its teeth, and allow it to do its job.
  • Charge veterans and the elderly. We can’t give away transit that doesn’t exist yet. Until MDT gets its house in order, they should be charged, albeit at a reduced rate that should be revisited when MDT’s finances get better. MDT needs income, and the Trust shouldn’t be responsible for giving it an allowance every month.
  • Charge for the Metromover. Same reasons as above.
  • Have MDT work with the Trust. Recent reports from Miami Today describe how the Trust is having a tough time getting cooperation from MDT with regard to budget issues. How is the Trust supposed to operate if it doesn’t know how much the system costs to maintain?? This is silly.

Note to Mayor Carlos Alvarez: the strong mayor powers you wanted came with responsibilities, ie. get MDT organized. How can they run the business of Miami-Dade Transit without a budget. Helloo?? Not to put all the blame on you though, as you’ve only really been in charge for a short while.

  • Tie the 20% Municipal Transportation Plan funding to transit specifically, not transportation which has become synonymous with roads and expressways. A majority of payments to municipalities have been spent on roads, resurfacing, and other road related infrastructure. The PTP was marketed primarily as a transit plan. Spend money on rail, buses, and the infrastructure related to these much needed systems. Our roads are in fine shape. That way projects like the Coral Gables Trolley continue to get funding, while other money is free to be spent on, oh, I don’t know, maybe a few bus shelters (around International Mall maybe)?
  • Increase fares to be consistent with our how efficient our system is. Don’t over do it. We want to pay for our transit, but we want to get something in return.

You need to rebuild our confidence in your ability to provide us with a functional and growing transit system. Very soon public perception of transit in this community is going to turn from being a nonessential ’social good’ to an indispensable and basic part of the infrastructure of the city. When that happens, when people start to feel like they have no choice but to get in their cars at $8.00 a gallon, watch out Commissioners and company. The mob will be ruthless, and the storming of the Bastille will seem like a trip to Disneyworld in comparison to your worth in the public eye.

MDT Free? Could Be…

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on May 27, 2008
in Congestion Pricing, Miami-Dade County and Miami-Dade Transit
. 5 Comments

Major Breaking News – Contrary to our report last week regarding the increase of transit fares, a couple of Miami-Dade County Commissioners (Bruno Barriero and Barbara Jordan) are proposing an additional ½ penny sales tax hike which would eliminate all MDT fares for all riders. The sales tax hike would require a public vote in November.

The proposal, floated Tuesday morning by two county commissioners, would ask voters to choose between higher taxes and higher fares.

The commission is scheduled to vote next month to raise fares by 50 cents and automatically raise fares in the future as the system’s costs increase, but those hikes would be moot if fares are eliminated.

The State of Miami Transit

Published
by
Tony Garcia
on May 22, 2008
in MDTA, MetroCard, Metromover, Metrorail, Miami 21, Miami Commission, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit, Mobility, Uncategorized and metrobus
. 9 Comments

The County Commission decided to delay its vote Tuesday on the proposed transit hikes. I commend Carlos Jimenez and others for seeing that the issue had to be reconsidered. As Gabe mentioned earlier in the week, the monthly pass really needs to be consistent with the size/reach of our transit system (not higher than NYC). Not to mention that the last thing you want to do when ridership is up is to increase fares, but the fact is that the system needs to be funded. Unfortunately I think that this discussion is just the latest in a series of bad management and planning decisions that keep our holding our transit back.

It has been a tumultuous time for Miami-Dade transit recently. The result of poor vision, bad management, and professional incompitance, the transit system is currently on life support. (This all with record high transit ridership on Tri-Rail reported today!).

The recent allocation of PTP tax dollars for the refurbishment of existing cars (and purchase of new ones) is indicative of the state of our transit. If the Trust hadn’t stepped in and bailed out MDT there would not have been anywhere to get the money from. In other words once the metro cars reached their lifespan they would have been tossed and we would have a really expensive piece of civic art. By not rehab-ing the cars some time back (as Baltimore did with its metro cars) the Commission basically put itself in a position where they had to buy new cars or close up shop. Not to mention the message it sends to Washington: that we aren’t serious about competing for transit dollars.  As if the Orange Line didn’t have enough funding problems, this just adds to how disorganized the MDT is. When the feds look at our existing system and see that it is mismanaged, what incentive do they have to give us money when there are plenty of other cities out there that are serious about mass transit.

The Orange Line debacle is yet another indication of how flawed our system is. We are eligible for lots of free money to help build this line, and we are at risk of losing it because we don’t know if we can maintain the line for the next 30 years? Really?? Lets not even mention that the Feds are already miffed that we are going to downgrade our Tri-Rail service after giving us nearly half a billion dollars for track upgrades.

Whew. Where does that leave us with oil closing in on $150/barrel (and soon thereafter $200, and $250. and $300…)? We need our transit system more than ever. We need a successful transit system now, not under the 50 year plan, but the five year plan.

Truth is if our planners and elected officials were as serious about transit as they were about highway and road building we would already have a really great transit system. I think it would be a surprise to many here in our car-centered culture that plenty of other post-war suburban cities have developed amazing transit systems over the past fifteen years.

Incidentally, I had lunch with a buddy of mine named Dave who happily takes the bus everyday from his house in Kendall to work in Coral Gables. He tried to explain to me why transit works for him but not for his dad (who won’t take the bus to save his life). “Its really easy for me. It’s mostly a straight shot with one transfer. But my dad works five minutes away from his house. It’s easier for him to just get in the car and go. Transit can’t take us everywhere.” Now Dave is my friend so I didn’t reach over the table and smack him around, but that’s exactly the attitude that pervades our culture and is bred from policy decisions made at the top.

Our elected officials need to understand:

We NEED transit alternatives to the car.

We DESERVE multiple forms of transit that are safe, frequent, and far reaching without having to get into the car.

We need transit NOW.

Bus Stop Blues

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on May 13, 2008
in Bay Link, Bus Stations, Miami-Dade Transit, New York City and bus
. 2 Comments

Below is an excerpt from an email I received this morning from my friend, an occasional bus commuter from Miami Beach to Downtown Miami.

Dude,

I took the bus this morning. Let me bore you with the details. Because my parking permit at Miami-Dade Community College expired (the court provides no parking for clerks), and I have to re-register for a summer class (that I do not need to take) to get access to the world’s crappiest parking lot, I took the bus. I missed the bus, waited 20 minutes, and finally caught the C.

When i got on the bus, i sat in the back, and guy with long hair covered in tattoos sitting on a bag of crushed cans began grooming his hair. He untied his ponytail and ran his fingers through his hair. It smelled like a barn. Hair went everywhere. Naturally, I moved to where a spot had opened up in the front row. As soon as I sat down I noticed the guy in front of me, a guy probably in his 30s who hadn’t paid to get on the bus (I heard the driver yelling at him when he got on, but she still let him on) took up 4 seats, lying sideways in handicap accessible row, with his legs and arms splayed. He had a crumpled 20 dollar bill in his hand, which he took out and put away in his pocket several times, and he smelled like Monday’s booze. He tried talking to me a few times. I ignored him for a while and eventually said, “I’m listening to my headphones, sorry” which was true, in a pissed off voice with my sunglasses still on. In response, or so it seemed, he took out a comb and began scrubbing his head like a brillo pad in front of everyone. The bus stopped every 30 seconds, and he never moved for anyone, and everyone accommodated him trying to pretend that all was normal because no one wanted to have to talk to him. The bus driver did nothing, naturally. Finally we got to the other side of the McCarthur Causeway and I’d had enough, so I got off right at the base of the exit ramp. I’ll walk 15 minutes to the office, I thought, just let me off. Also, I hate how the bus goes to the bus stop (Omni Station), which is a stupid mandatory detour for anyone commuting to downtown. Of course, my new friend decided to get off with me, then proceeded to follow me for about 5 blocks until he couldn’t keep up, at which point he fell behind and eventually out of my sight. I thought about turning and just popping him as hard as I could, but he was about 20 feet behind me the entire time so there was no need, and also, that’s not something I typically do.

I finally traverse my way through the streets of Miami, where cars zoom past me, where I see billboards and trucks but not one one coffee shop, restaurant, store, or habitable dwelling. Finally, as I get to the MDCC campus, which is right across the street from the courts, I see my same C bus pulling up. It’s the same speed as walking! Not on the causeway, but once you’re in Miami it moves at the same pace as a pedestrian (or at least, someone like me who walks rather fast).

The system is designed in such a way that people like me (i.e. employed, kind of a yuppie) give up because the mass transit is so inconvenient, slow, and disgusting. This is coming from someone who LOVED the subway system in NY and DC. In Miami, I’d rather wait in traffic, spend 20 minutes parking, and burn gas (btw, there’s no way it costs $3/day in gas to drive from SoBe to work and back - if they really wanted people to take the bus, they might want to make it cost effective), than have to deal with the bus situation each day.

OK, thanks for listening to my rant. I actually feel a bit better.

Yikes. Lucky for him, he won’t be enduring this much longer. He heads back to New York City towards the end of “summer.” I also suggested he try joining me in the bicycle commute sometimes soon. Unfortunately, his place of employment offers no showers and no reasonable place to change/store his clothes. Makes you wonder when that Bay Link might show up, huh?

Metrorail News

Published
by
JM Palacios
on March 27, 2008
in MDT, MIC, Metrorail, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit and Orange Line
. 5 Comments

Photo by Flickr User ImageMD.

If you haven’t heard the news, head over to the Miami Herald and read about the Citizen’s Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) vote to reject the planned use of sales tax money to purchase new Metrorail cars. At least they are protecting the tax money that’s supposed to go towards new service.

Meanwhile, Miami Gardens is asking Miami-Dade to bump the North Corridor Expansion to Phase 1, presumably making it priority over the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) connector. I’m not sure what benefit they expect to see out of that, as the MIC connection is not using federal funds and is currently the only piece of the Orange Line that looks like it might get built.

The feds pointed out when they downgraded the rating that they didn’t trust Miami-Dade to fund Metrorail properly. This whole failure to refurbish the cars in a timely manner merely proves them right. The CITT is trying to get the point across that band-aid fixes won’t work anymore. MDT needs a solid funding plan to get out of the current hole it’s in, and an equally solid plan to fund expansion. Without that, the feds won’t give Metrorail a dime.

Miami News & Commentary

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on February 28, 2008
in Bicycle Parking, Commission, Electric Car, FTA, James Simpson, MDT, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit, Public Transit and Ralph Cabrera
. 5 Comments
  • The State growth management planners have officially drafted a report recommending Miami-Dade County commissioners to reject the most recent bids to move the Urban Development Boundary further west. The issue will now head back to county commissioners who will vote again based on the state’s recommendations.
    • We really did not see this going any other way, considering the state has repeatedly warned County Commissioners on the devastating consequences our area would face should the UDB be extended west. We hope that Sally Heyman stays true to her word and reverts to her original vote against the expansion and are perplexed that this issue will somehow only narrowly be defeated. When it comes to the UDB, much of the county commission does not vote in the best interest of constituents. We’ll keep you posted as to when the County will be meeting, but in the meantime e-mail your county commissioner…
  • Miami-Dade County Commissioners gathered in Washington D.C. this week to meet with Federal Transit Administrator James Simpson to discuss the fate of the upcoming N/S and E/W metrorail extensions. The N/S extension was recently downgraded due to financial uncertainty within MDT. Simpson urged the county officials to work together and put an end to the racial bickering which has plagued much of the county’s projects since the 1970s.
    • We hope that the County administration comes back home with a clear understanding of what needs to be accomplished in order to see these projects come to fruition. MDT and the Commission should be ashamed that these critical projects were downgraded because of poor management however, given the poor management of previous projects and ridiculous cost overruns, this really shouldn’t surprise us. Transportation options shouldn’t become the center of a cultural war, on the contrary, transit should unite our neighborhoods and make county-wide mobility easier for all.
  • The city of Coral Gables is looking into creating plan that would provide free parking to the drivers of electric vehicles. The plan is being considered after a recommendation by the city’s economic development board altered Commissioner Ralph Cabrera’s initiative to provide more downtown bicycle parking. Meanwhile, some within the city were looking to expand the initiative to provide reduced parking fees for owners of hybrid vehicles.
    • We commend Commissioner Cabrera for introducing some greener initiatives and for the city’s support in making Coral Gables a bicycle friendly community. Free parking for electric vehicles may be ahead of its time, considering that few electric vehicles are available on the market today, but the city is headed in the right direction in providing the local infrastructure to even make this technology possible. The exclusion of hybrid vehicles from this proposition is recommended by Transit Miami due to the varied nature of hybrid vehicles (20 mpg Yukon Hybrid - 50 mpg Prius.) We believe the city needs to continue in the green direction by subsidizing only virtually zero emission projects (Bicycle, EV, Trolley, Pedestrian, etc.)

Mid Week News Links

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on February 13, 2008
in Bicycle Parking, Critical Mass, Emerge Miami, Kendall, MDT, Miami-Dade Transit, Omni and Tri-Rail
. 2 Comments
  • Happy Valentines Day, Now go ride Tri-Rail for free (Sun-Sentinel)
  • Former Omni Mall stepping up security to boost public safety at the new mixed-use complex (Miami Today)
  • MDT is planning on buying 136 new rail cars for metrorail rather than refurbishing the existing ones. The anticipated cost is $200 million more than refurbishment. (Miami Today FYI)
  • Community Councils sticking around- for now (Miami Herald)
  • You can learn to drive, part 5 (Bicycles) (Critical Miami)
  • Miami’s own mini-ciclovia. These events need more publicity. (Miami-Forum)
  • MDT is shopping for more Bike Racks for Metrorail. Why it took 2 years is beyond me. (Spokes ‘n’ Folks)
  • What happens when Emerge Miami’s Critical Mass and Politicians collide? Commissioner’s Sanchez’s commitment to join the next ride. (Riptide 2.0)

The MDT North Corridor Saga Continues, Part 1

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on February 4, 2008
in FTA, Harpal Kapoor, MDT, Metrorail, Miami-Dade Transit, North Corridor and Orange Line
. 8 Comments

In case you’ve spent the past couple of days living in a cave (or more likely, not paying attention to local transit news) there is trouble brewing on the horizon (by horizon I clearly mean this week) over at MDT. I know we haven’t touched up on MDT in a while, but we’re long overdue for some updates.

Last week, the FTA dealt a serious blow to the next major phase of metrorail expansion, the north corridor, by downgrading the once favorable rating of the project. The new Medium-low status doesn’t quite kill the project yet, but it places some serious funding hurdles in the way, which, if overcome, will set the project back by 6 months to a year (in MDT terms: we’re realistically looking at a 2+ year delay if funding is eventually secured.) Not all hope is lost yet on the nearly 10 mile long corridor; the FTA is choosing to downgrade the status of the project because of the “county’s long-range financial forecasting” rather than ridership projections or cost benefits of the corridor itself. The FTA seems to be in favor of the project but is rather questioning the ability and leadership of MDT.

Has Metrorail’s Train Tracker Affected Your Commute?

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on January 10, 2008
in MDT, Metrorail, Miami-Dade Transit, Train Tracker and Transit
. 17 Comments
Back in November, we showcased Miami-Dade Transit’s new “Train Tracker” program, which is supposed to allow Metrorail riders to easily locate trains and know exactly when they are projected to arrive at your departing station.
We want to know if you’ve used it, and how effective/accurate it has been thus far. Has it made your commute any smoother or more predictable? Has it made it more likely that you’ll use Metrorail? As always, your thoughts and opinions are much appreciated.

Crazy New UM Study

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on December 19, 2007
in Congestion, Coral Gables, Douglas, Downtown, Industrial Engineering, Miami-Dade Transit, Parking Requirements, Ralph Cabrera, Service, Transit, Trolley, UM, William Kerdyk and bus
. 3 Comments
The Coral Gables Gazette recently published a troubling article on a trolley study conducted by the University of Miami’s Industrial Engineering department. Troubling not because of the results of the study but because of how ridiculously logical the conclusions were. The simplicity can be summed up best by the CGG’s article title: New study: Trolley saves 712 parking space per day. You don’t say? Transit actually reduces the number of parking spaces needed in an urban area, what’s next, you’re going to suggest transit reduces congestion?

Engineering, calculates that the trolley saves the city 712 parking spaces a day and reduces the amount of vehicle traffic along the route by 1.2 million miles a year.

Gasp! Obviously we’re floored that this can still be considered newsworthy and is typically not common knowledge. Coral Gables commissioners are considering affixing a charge to ride the system which is currently free. Not all city commissioners appear to be happy with the success:

[Commissioner Ralph] Cabrera also reiterated past complaints that the trolley system had evolved from its original purpose as a downtown circulator into more of a connector between county mass transit systems.

Who cares as long as the system effectively reduces congestion in the Coral Gables Downtown Core? Since the city is unwilling to reduce the parking requirements for buildings to begin with, we might as well reduce the need for all the parking being built anyway. Although I agree MDT should do more to help the city transit service, axing the project would cause too many problems. At least someone sees the benefits brought forth by the system:

[Vice Mayor William] Kerdyk said that the independent study, which he points out that he didn’t even commission, should erase any doubts to the effectiveness and importance of the system although he wasn’t sure that questions regarding budgeting for the trolley system would go away as a result of the study.

Final Segment of South Dade Busway Set to Open

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on December 7, 2007
in BRT, Bus Rapid Transit, Miami-Dade Transit and South Miami-Dade Busway
. 2 Comments
The South Miami-Dade Busway expansion will finally be complete and open to the public next week. We want to hear about your experiences riding it, so please feel free to email us with stories, comments, or concerns.

From the Miami-Dade Transit press release:

(MIAMI, December 7, 2007) – Miami-Dade Transit will dedicate the final 6.5-mile segment of the South Miami-Dade Busway in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. The ceremony will take place at the south end of the new extension at Southwest 344th Street, two blocks west of U.S. 1 in Florida City.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, members of the County Commission and other local dignitaries will help celebrate the occasion. The public is invited to the event, and free refreshments and entertainment will be provided.

Buses will begin running on the newly completed extension — which continues the Busway from Southwest 264th Street to 344th Street — on Sunday, Dec. 16. Routes 34 (Busway Flyer) and 38 (Busway MAX) will be realigned to operate on the new Busway segment, allowing passengers to get to their destinations more quickly. Route 38 will continue to stop at the Florida City Wal-Mart from the Southwest 344th Street Busway station, while Route 34 will continue to serve Florida City’s City Hall.

At 20 miles, the completed Busway, which runs just west of U.S. 1, will be the longest Bus Rapid Transit line in the United States, providing fast, convenient service all the way from Florida City to the Dadeland South Metrorail station, with several Park & Ride lots located at convenient intervals along its entire length.

“We’re very pleased in bringing the benefits of the Busway to residents of south Miami-Dade,” said Miami-Dade Transit Director Harpal Kapoor. “Homestead and Florida City residents will now be able to get to work and other destinations faster and more conveniently using the Busway, just as their neighbors on the north end of the Busway have been doing for years.”

Since the Busway opened in 1997, Miami-Dade Transit buses have been swiftly shuttling thousands of passengers a day on the exclusive bus-only expressway, allowing commuters to avoid gridlock on chronically congested U.S. 1. The Busway now enjoys 23,000 average weekday boardings – a stunning 180 percent ridership growth in its 10 years of operation.

"I Love Paris on a Bus, a Bike, a Train and in Anything but a Car"

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on July 27, 2007
in Bikes, Miami-Dade Transit, New york times, Paris, Sustainability and public space
. 1 Comment
Serge Schmemann has written an excellent editorial in the New York Times, where the spotlight is on Paris again as an emerging global leader in livability and sustainability. It goes hand-in-hand with the cycling post from yesterday. Miami (and the U.S.) could learn a lot.

Click here to read it.

Photo courtesy of paytonc’s flickr

Dump The Pump!

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on June 21, 2007
in BCT, Conservation, Dump the Pump, Florida, JTA, LYNX, Miami, Miami-Dade Transit, Palm Tran, RTS, SCAT, SFRTA, Transit, Transportation and Tri-Rail
. 3 Comments
The day is dedicated to raising awareness that public transportation helps improve the environment and conserve fuel. It also offers the opportunity for people to beat the high price of gasoline and support public transportation as an important travel option that helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
-Via APTA

Locally: