Miami-Dade Busway Could Open Up to Cars

Posted by: Nate Berg

12 June 2009 - 5:00am

Officials in Miami-Dade County are considering a move to lift car restrictions from an underused two-lane commuter busway. One plan is to convert the busway into a tollroad.

The busway had apparently suffered from under use, as this article describes it, because of a lack of service provision by the county transit authority. Drivers in the area had therefore not considered the bus as a viable alternative to driving -- and the two lane busway became an object of scorn for drivers stuck in traffic and staring at two empty and unusable lanes.

"Now they might get their wish if county commissioners and other local elected officials approve a proposed plan to convert the Busway into -- among other alternatives -- a four-lane highway with express toll lanes where private vehicles would share the road with buses. The revenue would then be used to fund the cash-strapped county transit agency.

The July 23 vote by commissioners and mayors who are members of the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization would enable the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority to obtain a detailed study on ways to convert the Busway."

Full Story: South Miami-Dade Busway may give way to cars

Source: The Miami Herald, June 10, 2009

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TOLLROADSnews covers potential busway conversion to express lane

Submitted by Irvin Dawid on Fri, 06/12/2009 - 17:07.

"South Miami Busway likely to be studied for toll express lanes" notes that while it's a successful busway for the riders, it's operating well below capacity ("not even 4% of lane capacity").

Furthermore, crashes are a major problem because unlike a freeway, this is a highway with street intersections which "have been the major operational failure of the busway."

Irvin Dawid