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Metromover, Metrorail and Metrobus are three reminders of a once Metro-branded Miami-Dade County.
In 1997, the constituents of Dade County voted favorably to change the county’s name to now Miami-Dade County. This brief history is but a small example of how Miami-Dade has amplified and rebranded to capitalize on the international recognition that the name “Miami” carries.
But much like our daily commuter rail is delayed in moving us from place to place, there seems also to be a delay in their rebranding. At this week’s Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioner’s meeting, Miami businessman Rodney Barreto gave a presentation of why Miami-Dade Transit needs to get up to speed on the power of branding and how it can influence ridership in the county. There was no particular name that was presented by Mr. Barreto, but it seems that certain commissioners see a bigger picture when it comes to the name of our transit system.
Mr. Barreto pointed out to commissioners how the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami (now PortMiami), Metrozoo (now Zoo Miami) and even the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee have all made branding shifts to tap into the economic power the “Miami” name holds. He even referenced back to a county commission meeting held in 2018 where a proposal to change Miami International Airport’s name was shot down by the commission due to the potential negative impacts the disassociation of the Miami name could have on one of our most powerful economic engines.
It should be acknowledged that through the leadership of the Transportation Committee, Miami-Dade has made some significant strides with transportation policy such as expanding the RTZ (Rapid Transit Zones) to stimulate development along transportation corridors. But don’t kid yourself, Miami is a name recognized nationally and internationally, so let’s keep the conversation going to modernize our transit system.
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