Miami-Dade's Better Bus plan aims to improve public transit, but some riders have concerns

North Miami resident Jonel Juste takes the bus almost every day to get to work, but he’s concerned that he’ll soon have to find another bus route.   

“It’s a lot of routes to discontinue," Juste said. "All those routes that they’ll take off the streets means more walking for people, it means more waiting and some people can walk like me, I’m young. But some people can’t, especially the elderly." 

Starting on Nov. 13, fares on Miami-Dade County buses, the Metrorail and the Metromover, will all be free until the end of the year. It’s part of phase two of the county’s Better Bus Network rollout. 

The major system overhaul will affect almost all of the bus routes across the county. Six routes will not be affected. A full list of the changes to the bus routes can be found here.

Officials with Miami-Dade County Transit and Public Works said years of planning went into the Better Bus Network after it was approved in 2021. It’s touted as a community-led effort with input from Transit Alliance for a more reliable, efficient network. 

“Big changes like this are hard, but as difficult as it might seem, the benefits completely outweigh this effort," said Carlos Cruz-Casas, the assistant director with Miami-Dade County Transit and Public Works. "We are drastically changing our system in order to provide more frequent routes to our community, faster journeys, and a simplified system that can actually increase access to opportunities."

According to the county, with the Better Bus Network, the average resident can reach nearly 12,000 more jobs in 45 minutes of travel time or less. That’s a 28% increase over the current network. 

“Routes running every 10 minutes to 15 minutes all day every day is going to more than double," Cruz-Casas said. "What that does is bring a lot of access to opportunities. Hundreds of thousands of more jobs that people will be able to access just by improving our service. While it might be moving from one block to another, the ability for someone to walk that extra block to get a bus that comes twice as fast is very important."

Some riders who rely on public transportation, for work, appointments and school, were skeptical about the changes. 

“There are a lot of people here who take the L, so it would really tough for us because the L drives me directly to school and I need the L to go to school,” said bus rider Carina Staub. 

“What bus am I going to take if they take away the routes?" bus rider Maria Ovalle said in Spanish.

Ovalle takes the 115 bus, which runs from North Beach to Mt. Sinai on Miami Beach. It’s one of over a dozen routes that will be discontinued. 

As part of the launch of phase two, the county is temporarily making bus fares free of charge until Dec. 31. 

“If I have fewer routes and fewer buses, even though it’s free, it’s not going to change anything," Juste said. "We’re not complaining about the price, it’s not about the price, it’s about the service."

Metro buses will be boosted by the county’s free, on-demand rideshare service, MetroConnect and trolleys in some areas.

Transit officials are also deploying trained community ambassadors to pass out flyers at bus stops and answer any questions that riders have during this overhaul. 

Riders can also use the county’s Trip Planner tool to figure out the new route adjustments. 

More information on the Better Bus SHIFTS into Gear action plan can be found here.