Better Bus Network faces point-by-point scorecard
The county’s Transportation, Mobility and Planning Committee last week called for a thorough point-by-point report card for the Better Bus Network, which launched last November. Some riders have complained that they can no longer reach jobs conveniently because of the changes.
The resolution by Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez called for the mayor to:
■Describe the status of implementation of the Better Bus Network.
■Compare ridership numbers from before the network began and after, “including and specifically detailing the ridership numbers from the fare-free period from Nov. 13, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023.”
■Detail which routes did better or worse.
■List numbers of complaints to the county before and after the new network was introduced.
■Detail the average waits at every bus shelter.
■List numbers of incidents involving bus users before and after the network started.
■List fare collection amounts before and after the network began.
Even that long list of requests wasn’t enough for the committee, which added to the report card a request by Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins to list the times that buses move along the routes to see if they are moving faster or not.
Commissioner Raquel Regalado asked that the on-demand MetroConnect service be included in the study because it became a cost in the overall network as MetroConnect in essence replaced bus routes where use in the past was sparce. She also said that the MetroConnect is performing duties that weren’t contemplated in the plans.
“A lot of people are using it past the first and last mile,” the segments of the journey connecting riders’ homes to the bus system, and are acting like it’s a free Uber system “on our dime,” Ms. Regalado said.
Committee Chair Eileen Higgins said that MetroConnect must indeed be part of the report because it is actually part of the bus system. She asked that the report also include the cost per user of the system and who the users are.
“We were already preparing a report” before the resolution was offered, said county Chief Operations Officer Jimmy Morales, who said the report will also talk about the three-times-yearly adjustments to routes that was planned, including adjustments coming in April. “The report was forthcoming anyway.”
Chair Higgins noted her concerns about the route on Miami Beach’s Alton Road and implied she expected those to be addressed in April.
In October 2021 the county commission authorized the service adjustments in bus operations that would become the Better Bus Network, which affected 80 of the county’s 99 bus routes and added about $20 million to annual system operating costs, a 7% increase in the then-current budget.
Some of the changes planned included upgrading weekday peak service to run more frequently and adding routes.
The aim was to increase access to jobs and services while reducing bus service to areas where the buses were barely used, Mr. Morales told commissioners before their 2021 vote. The changes were the result of a three-year public outreach by the volunteer Transit Alliance that studied the bus system minutely.
But those plans never came to fruition fully. The bus system wasn’t able to hire enough drivers to run the full plan, the legislation states, so “a series of service adjustments set forth in the revised Better Bus Network” cut the need for so many drivers and the service started in scaled-back format last November.
Christine
March 21, 2024 at 3:18 pm
This new system has not been good for most riders. I for one lost “my” route, the S, which ran along Alton Rd and served my needs for both North and South travel perfectly. The current 20 is of no use to me. The 100 is a bunching disaster that is too far for all of us living on the West side of South Beach.It also bypasses the vital Omni connection point, making it even more useless. The only decent connection I see is the 36 which now allows travel from South Beach to Midtown, but it takes almost one hour to get there, so very slow.
Karin Stahl
March 21, 2024 at 7:52 pm
They have cut Routes 10, 16, 19 and 2 for service from Downtown Miami and Miami Dade College to 163rd Street Mall Walmart. This means there is absolutely no service for any residents of Biscayne Park. In addition, they cut Route 93 and rerouted Route 3 to go directly to Aventura Mall, not to Walmart. This means residents of Sans Souci, Keystone Point and Highland Park have no direct service to Walmart. They have to cross multiple Lanes of traffic to transfer onto Route 75 to get to Walmart. Also, there is no longer service from 36 Street and Biscayne Blvd to Mount Sinai Hospital. You can’t even transfer at Omni Terminal anymore. They cut all service on Omni. Riding on these buses is becoming a living hell. With the North Dade buses to Walmart cut, only the 9 buses service a radius of 10 miles of North Dade County to go shopping at an affordable Walmart. We are suffering. Bring back the old bus routes.
Justin
March 21, 2024 at 10:44 pm
I would bring back the old way split public Works as a separate and have transit there way and bring back all the bus routes that been taken away and privatization go away and Enforce All The Rules And Regulations on Transit No Eating or Drinking on All Transit Vehicles or trains Have Miami Dade Transit Police instead of Security Guards take people off the rail or bus if they don’t follow the rules fine them or ban them or Arrest them have have transit go through the train cars make sure that people have paid for the fair keep the promises that was made extended the Metrorail South were the busway is instead of buses have the train run there there is train crossing signals already installed there now there has to be train tracks installed because it don’t make any sense to have train crossing gates and signals and no train tracks people would be confused looking for a train and there is no train Please put the Metrorail down were the busway is people will use it upgrade All The Miami Dade Metrorail Stations
Susan C
March 22, 2024 at 6:39 pm
Its so sad that people are walking in the dark so 20 mins, after crossing very dangerous SW 104 St,.. regarding busses 104 and 107. People here are furious.
Lisa Zara
March 24, 2024 at 12:10 pm
The advertised frequency routes are not even in place. Why even prepare a plan when the number of workers for it aren’t even met. Of course the county will blame it on Transit Alliance, like as if they are government.
A complain I have on Route 100 is the unnecessary addition of terminal stop Haulover Beach. Nobody stops there and its a waste of time to see two to three buses pass by you in Surfside & Bal Harbour because your destination is Aventura Mall, not the useless Haulover Beach Terminal. I have waited an hour just to wait for an Aventura Mall terminal bus to arrive at a stop. And even the drivers know it as they pass the stops because they know nobody goes to Haulover Beach terminal. The buses to Aventura Mall are always packed because of this.
FZ
April 5, 2024 at 2:59 pm
Transit Alliance came up with all of these horrifically stupid ideas. So they deserve a huge part of the blame. They’re out of touch and useless and clueless.
Gabriel
March 26, 2024 at 4:18 am
An absolute nightmare for the working people and tourists alike. The 100 takes forever and often runs two or three together and often times standing room only. The BBN update is a setback for this city. We need to vote out all politicians involved.
Dawn
March 26, 2024 at 4:43 pm
The S Bus was a vital means of transportation for both the elderly and the hospitality workers living on the west side of South Beach. Forcing our elderly to navigate the transfer from the useless 20 Bus along busy Washington Ave/Lincoln Rd to the 100 Bus is a travesty. Bring back the S Bus!!!
David Driver
April 1, 2024 at 11:55 pm
Go back to old routes (S, 120, J), and increase frequency. Get rid of Haulover Beach station, have buses continue to Aventura. Add more buses, please!
Karin Stahl
June 4, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Every day, now that they’ve eliminated Routes 10, 16, 19 and 2 and curtailing Route 3, there’s only one bus to travel to North Miami Beach from downtown Miami. It’s packed like a sardine can every time I get on it. No one cares.
Karin Stahl
June 4, 2024 at 5:02 pm
These changes are ruining commuters lives! It’s intolerable.