A Call for Bus Rapid Transit in a Miami Suburb

Pinecrest City Councilmember James McDonald thinks a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system running down Highway 1 would be a great addition to the city. "Each day, our local drivers spend hours of lost time, burn thousands of dollars in wasted gas, and generate significant unnecessary pollution just by sitting in traffic, waiting," McDonald writes for Cities Speak. He reasons that a BRT could cut that congestion.

Experts don't always agree with the notion that public transit cuts traffic, reasoning that if cars were pulled off the road as riders got on buses the freed up space would eventually induce demand. But while transit doesn't necessarily reduce traffic it can create more equitable transport, cut emissions, and bring more economic activity to an area.

What's more, McDonald argues the process could likely be financed by a federal TIGER grant. "Congress just increased funding to the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program — and similar programs, like Transportation Alternatives, the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, New Starts, and the Smart City Challenge, have all had some impressive results for communities," McDonald says.