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The South Florida Roundup

Florida Roundup: Complaints Plague Miami-Dade Bus System

PATRICK FARRELL
/
Miami Herald

Criticism of Miami-Dade's public bus system can now be quantified -- in 27,000 complaints. 

According to a Miami Herald investigation that analyzed the high volume of complaints spanning the last 18 months, the most common question bus riders ask themselves is "Where's my bus?"

Other common infractions: Rude drivers, overcrowded routes and dirty busses. Really dirty -- roach-level dirty. 

About 224,000 people ride a bus in Miami-Dade County on an average day and, in the first half of this year alone, people took 38 million trips on a county bus.

 

"More people are on buses in Miami-Dade County than are in jets at Miami International," says Miami Herald reporter Doug Hanks, who reported the Herald's investigation. 

 

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Esteban Bovo Jr. says the current state of buses in the county is a "perfect storm," begging for change and a revamp. 

 

"Our residents have lost total faith in the government's ability to handle this situation," Bovo says. 

 

 

Bovo says the time for studies and talks has ended and real changes need to start being implemented in the county's bus system to make it a more reliable tool for residents. 

He says that as transportation in Miami continues to evolve, ride-sharing services can be linked with public transit as a "last mile" option for riders. 

Still, for some riders, Miami-Dade's bus system has a long way to go before it's, as Bovo says, "what people want." 

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