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Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) recently received final unanimous approval to implement its comprehensive bus network redesign, titled the Better Bus Network, from the county commission.
The Better Bus Network was launched as a community-driven effort in 2018 with the goal of increasing the number of bus routes with frequent service and to create better connections for Miami-Dade Transit riders across the county.
Miami-Dade County has not undergone a system-wide review and redesign of its Metrobus network since the launch of the Metrorail system in 1986.
“This plan has been years in the making and reflects our commitment to improving service for transit riders and making our transit system more efficient, accessible, and reliable for all residents,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Providing better, faster service will not only connect our community to more jobs and destinations, it will encourage more drivers to get out of the car and get on a bus.
“Special thank you to Commissioner [Eileen] Higgins for her leadership, Transit Alliance for their activism, DTPW for their dedication, and the entire Board of County Commissioners for their unanimous vote to make this project a reality,” the mayor added.
This re-imagined bus network will improve service across the board, increasing the number of major bus route corridors with 15-minute frequent service during both peak and off-peak service hours.
The network also will provide significant benefits for vulnerable populations, including:
• Provides high-frequent (15-minute) bus service to 353,000 more Miami-Dade County residents.
• More than doubling the number of seniors with access to high-frequent service, from 11 percent today to 23 percent under the new network.
• More than doubling the number of people living in poverty with access to high-frequent service, from 12 percent today to 28 percent under the new network.
• Increasing the number of households without cars with access to high-frequent service, from 29 percent today to 48 percent under the new network.
“Delivering more frequent service, especially on our existing major corridors, means riders will spend less time waiting for a bus and quickly getting to places where they would like to go,” said Eulois Cleckley, DTPW director and CEO. “I’m proud of the work DTPW staff have done on this project, and I know it will be a huge step forward in making Miami-Dade’s transportation network faster, more efficient and more connected.”
The Better Bus Network was originally initiated as a grassroots bus network redesign plan by DTPW’s partners at Transit Alliance.
Along with Transit Alliance, DTPW has conducted numerous countywide surveys with thousands of responses and has held many public meetings to gather feedback. Transit Alliance conducted more than 150 events and held more than 1,700 text conversations with riders.
“The heart and soul of the county’s public transportation system is its bus network,” said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Higgins, chair of the Transportation, Mobility and Planning Committee. “With 80 percent of our county’s transit users depending on our bus system, the Better Bus Network ensures equitable and reliable public transportation that will improve the lives of its current users, and I know will convince many new users to also get moving on the bus.”
Now that the project has been approved, DTPW will begin the process of marketing the upcoming changes to transit riders. The new network is expected to launch in 2022.
Riders can view the approved changes to the network, including changes to route frequencies and bus stop locations, at miamidade.gov/betterbus.
Download the GO Miami-Dade Transit app to plan and track your next trip on transit.
