Miami-Dade County runs one of the largest transit systems in the southeastern United States, but still struggles with low ridership on several routes — requiring cuts to service that may inconvenience some vulnerable residents.
At a meeting Tuesday, Miami-Dade commissioners voted to eliminate Bus Route 132 from Hialeah Market Station to downtown Doral. According to the latest data from the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW), only about seven people rode the route per hour.
While the route fell below the county's ridership threshold for elimination, Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis, who represents part of Hialeah, shared concerns for the elderly riders in her district.
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"We've had a lot of cuts to bus routes in Hialeah, and I hear about this all the time when I visit the elderly residents that don't have cars," Milian Orbis said Tuesday.
DTPW Director Stacy Miller said riders can take the Route 36 bus which has many of the same stops with the exception of Hialeah Market Station. DTPW said only seven passengers per day would board the 132 from Hialeah Market Station.
Other routes were reduced, meaning buses will come less frequently.
Route 37 will have stops at 30-minute intervals instead of 15 minutes between the Airport Station and Douglas Road Station on weekdays and Saturdays, and 40 minutes instead of 20 minutes on Sundays due to low ridership.
Route 8 will be have stops every 60 minutes instead of 30 minutes west of Florida International University (FIU) to University Lakes Mobile Home Park on weekdays, and Route 24 will provide 60-minute service west of FIU seven days a week.
These changes are part of the county's ongoing rollout of the "Better Bus Network" overhaul of the county's transit system. The program is meant to optimize the transit network by consolidating duplicative routes and increasing service and frequency on corridors with high ridership.
It was championed by the local nonprofit Transit Alliance.
The Better Bus Network has been criticized by some riders for unpredictable service and a high number of overcrowded buses, leaving many to wait hours for the next bus.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, who serves as chairman of the commission's transportation committee, noted Tuesday that the county needs to weigh whether it continues to subsidize bus rides out of its general fund or begin raising fare prices in order to expand service. Currently, county buses only collect enough money in fares to pay for about 10% of the cost per trip. The rest is subsidized by tax dollars.
