First major revamp of county’s Better Bus Network coming

Miami-Dade’s bus network is expected to get its first major revamp Nov. 25 as the transit system tries to quell loud rider complaints on a handful of specific routes.

Introduction of the Better Bus Network routes and schedules Nov. 13, 2023, was geared to provide faster and more-frequent trips on the most heavily traveled of the county’s 70 routes by spreading bus stops farther apart and deemphasizing little-traveled routes.

It has accomplished its aim of increasing use, with gains every month year over year, and has increased on-time arrivals 3% since its launch. Some routes were tweaked in April and more is coming later this month, but the biggest overhaul is due in November.

Those big changes go before a county committee this week. One would change Metrobus service on routes 20 and 32 and the forthcoming Alton Road Metrolink that serve Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Miami International Airport, the Omni multimodal center in downtown Miami and the Stephen P. Clark Metrorail-Metrobus hub at Government Center.

Those changes will see the county add a new Route 101 to link Mount Sinai and Government Center. It’s to run every half hour from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. along Alton Road to Government Center and from Biscayne Boulevard to the Mount Sinai complex. This will replace MetroLink service on the route that uses smaller vehicles with Metrobuses.

Route 20 will run every 30 minutes weekdays. Combined with the new Route 101 and an extension of Route 32 to the Omni terminal, the routes combined will run every 15 minutes, the county says.

The other big change will create a new Route 57 by splitting contracted Route 56 into two routes with the same frequency and hours. The county says this will provide a shorter, more-reliable connection to Metrorail and see more buses arrive on time.

Because the route revisions are major, they require a public hearing and county commission approval.