The long-awaited launch of Miami-Dade County’s “Bus Rapid Transit” service from Florida City to Dadeland South will open later this month after years of construction and testing.
The South Dade TransitWay has long been heralded as a solution to the public transportation woes of residents in the southern parts of Miami-Dade County.
Commuting on U.S. Route 1 north in the mornings or south in the afternoons can sometimes take up to two hours, according to county officials. The rapid transit system is an attempt to cut that commute in half starting on Oct. 27, following a ribbon cutting ceremony on Oct. 22.
“This is a first in many regards. It’s the first major transit expansion in ten years in the county. It’s a first of its kind — the longest all-electric Bus Rapid Transit system in this country,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (right) with other county officials riding an Express bus during a tour of the South Dade TransitWay.
Residents of southern Miami-Dade County have long clamored for transit solutions to help connect them to jobs to the north, asking for an expansion of the Metrorail train service farther than the Dadeland South station.
Miami-Dade County officials, however, opted in 2018 under then Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s administration to build a Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) instead — drawing the ire from residents who wanted rail.
“The Mayor argues that rail is too expensive … It’s true that rail is considerably more expensive, but there is also a high price for not investing in the right transit mode,” Rene Infante, former chairman of the Economic Development Council of South Miami-Dade, wrote in an op-ed for the South Dade News Leader in 2018.
Construction of the transitway cost the county upwards of $300 million, with funding from federal, state and local government sources. The fleet of 60 new express buses cost an additional $96 million, according to Sean Adgerson, deputy director of the county Department of Transportation and Public Works.
The mayor said the county could not afford building a rail system along the corridor at this time, but the hope is that, if enough people use BRT, the county will be able to apply for federal grants to convert the transitway into a light rail system.
“ You have to show that you have ridership and this corridor really did not have the density of ridership that would have put it high up on the list of priorities for federal funding,” Levine Cava told WLRN.
The South Dade TransitWay is a 20-mile stretch parallel to US-1 exclusively for use by county buses. Gate arms at intersections along the TransitWay prevent cars from crossing over while a bus is coming through.
The TransitWay will feature 60 all-electric “Metro Express” buses that will travel along a 20-mile partially closed corridor exclusively for buses that runs parallel to US-1 from the Dadeland South Metrorail Station to SW 344th Street. Express buses along the corridor will stop at 14 stations meant to mimic train stations with air-conditioned vestibules and raised platforms.
Regular Metro buses will also travel along the transitway, stopping at the 14 express stations in addition to existing normal service bus stops along the transitway.
The transitway has already been constructed for some time, but express bus service will be open to the public for the first time.
Intersections that cross over the transitway along US-1 have gate arms, similar to train crossings, that will prevent cars from driving through and interrupting bus service during peak hours. That means that, in the mornings, northbound Express buses will be able to drive uninterrupted along the transitway. Southbound buses will get that same preemption over traffic in the afternoons.
Additionally, during non-peak hours, buses will get priority over cars when it comes to traffic signals, meaning traffic lights will turn green for buses earlier than they will for regular traffic.
Express buses are outfitted with air conditioning, Wi-Fi and charging ports for riders, as well as two indoor bike racks.
Along with assisting commuters coming to and from southern Miami-Dade County, the mayor and officials believe the newly opened BRT service will encourage economic development as businesses and housing crop up along the transitway.
We already have approved 24 new affordable housing developments along the corridor. So that’s a total of 4,400 new units that are completed or underway,” Levine Cava said.
The South Dade TransitWay is part of a broader Miami-Dade County initiative to improve transit called the Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) plan. The plan involves creating rapid transit along five corridors throughout Miami-Dade County.
This story was produced by WLRN, South Florida’s only public radio station at 91.3 FM, as part of a content-sharing partnership with The Miami Times. Read more at WLRN.org.
