It is time to rebrand Miami-Dade’s transit system

By
Grant Miller, Publisher
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Grant Miller

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.

Rodney Barreto

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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8 COMMENTS

  1. I thought the county name was changed when the City of Miami was having financial ‘difficulties’ so people thought, we must do something to save the name Miami! If the city had gone belly up, they would just be part of the great unincorporated Dade County.
    If you look up the biweekly stats from the State Dept of Health on covid, they still refer to the county as Dade County.
    I’m still wondering why the Univ of Miami uses that name when their original campus is in Coral Gables on land set aside by the founder George Merrick. Makes more sense to call them the Univ of Coral Gables. And their nickname, the Canes is now more applicable to the walking stick many elderly people use.

  2. Elsa is correct, we really don’t have a “system”, and to try to compare what we do have with New York, Chicago, etc. is foolish. Those are “real systems” and have been around for a very long time, but they have their problems just like we do, but because we don’t live there, we don’t know about them. I’ve been a transit user for almost 25 years, and have been very active in promoting it to others. It can be, and should be, better but that takes leadership and activism by people who use it. Unfortunately, too many people who work for DTPW and/or sit on committees that address problems, NEVER ride on it.

  3. Let’s get rid of Dade. Major Dade was an Indian killer who lost his life trying to kill more indigenous Native American people. It is anachronistic to continue to honor him.
    How about Greater Miami County?

  4. If we don’t rebrand, then people will have the same image of an outdated transit system in their heads. I think a PR push is the first step.

  5. It will only bring negative feedback to Miami. We like to compare ourselves with major international cities such as New York, Chicago, London, etc however, when it comes to a transit system we are far from reaching such a comparison. I would not change the name.

  6. People don’t use the transit system because there is really no transit system. Miami likes to compare itself with New York, Chicago, London, Madrid. We may be known for many things but NOT for our transit system. I would keep the name “Miami” out of it since it would only bring negative feedback.

  7. Why change? No one does not use Transit because it does not have the name Miami in it. I have used transit all over the world and my decisions were based on cost & convenience, not whether the local transit authority had the city name as part of it.

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