Following are updates on the current status of the Beach Express North BERT project, potential Route 150 interim modifications, and the City’s transit pass program.

BERT

The City, County and FDOT continue to meet and coordinate.  Recent correspondence from the FDOT State Secretary Kevin Thibault states a service commencement date of 2023 for the BERT service.  The County has submitted the required Project Justification Report to FDOT for review.  At the latest meeting on September 13, FDOT discussed project implementation schedule and scope.

Design and construction funds for the Julia Tuttle Causeway inside shoulder modifications required for the Beach Express North BERT service are included in the FDOT District 6 Tentative Work Program for Fiscal Years 2021-2025; however, the operation and maintenance funds awarded through the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization SMART Demonstration Program for the BERT service are not included in the FDOT Work Program at this time.  It is worth highlighting that the City has committed to funding 50% of the annual operation and maintenance costs of the BERT service for a three-year period, for a total approximate amount of $5.1 million.  As such, City staff has formally requested that FDOT include the state’s 50% share of the annual operating cost of the BERT service in its Work Program.

Additionally, FDOT contracted HDR Engineering to develop the design drawings for the Julia Tuttle Causeway inside shoulder modifications and the bus by-pass lanes (queue jumpers).  A kick-off meeting was held on September 13, 2019.  HDR will conduct a technical review; update the design scoping report; develop design drawings, construction cost estimate, and a concept of operations report; and guide the implementation of the project. 

The schedule for BERT implementation process is as follows: 

• technical review – September 2019

• concept of operations for BERT service – October 2019

• feasibility analysis report – November 2019

• design development, including preparing final engineering plans/specifications/construction cost estimates and obtaining design variances/exceptions and approvals – 2020 - 2021

• construction award - April 2022

• project construction and BERT service commencement - TBD

   

Approvals needed during the design process include:

• FDOT approval of the project justification report and concept plans

• South Florida Water Management District environmental resource permit

• cultural resources clearance and environmental certification from FDOT

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approval

Route 150/Airport Express

The City has been working with Miami-Dade County to implement interim modifications to the existing Route 150/Airport Express to achieve BERT-like service in advance of the future Beach Express North BERT project.  As such, both the County and Transit Alliance’s Better Bus Project have assessed Route 150 and made recommendations for changes to the existing service.

A report prepared by Cambridge Systematics for Miami-dade County dated September 18, 2019 and entitled “Route 150/Airport Flyer Route Modification Opportunity with Beach Express North BERT” evaluated the Route 150 modifications proposed by the City.  The report concurred with the route alignment proposed by the City, which recommends service between Earlington Heights metrorail station and Miami Beach via Julia Tuttle Causeway and 41^st Street to Collins Avenue, then proceeding south along Collins Avenue and terminating at City Center rather than at South Pointe Drive where the service currently terminates.  The next step is for the County to review and approve the route modifications for potential implementation as part of an upcoming bus service line-up, which occurs in the spring and fall of each year.

On a parallel path, the Transit Alliance’s Better Bus project is evaluating the performance of all County bus routes, including Route 150.  In September 2019, two network concepts were released by Transit Alliance: the coverage concept and the ridership concept. These concepts presented two different bus network designs based on two different goals. The coverage concept maximizes job access and widens stop spacing while ensuring that everyone who is within a quarter of a mile of transit today is still near a stop.  The ridership concept proposes a network that shifts service away from low density areas and increases service frequency in the densest and busiest places in the County, including in Miami Beach.

In both Better Bus concepts, Route 150 is eliminated and replaced by a new Route 120 that connects Miami Beach, Downtown Miami, and Miami International Airport (MIA) along Flagler Street rather than Julia Tuttle Causeway.  The Better Bus project’s goal is to provide access to Miami Beach and Miami International Airport along a new route with a higher population density in order to increase ridership; however, the new route would operate as a local service rather than an express service.

The Better Bus project concepts were presented to the Transportation, Parking, and Bicycle-Pedestrian Facilities Committee (TPBPFC) at its October 7, 2019 meeting.  At the meeting, the committee passed a motion endorsing the ridership concept; however, the TPBPFC did not support the proposed elimination of Route 150 because it eliminates a direct express route between Miami Beach and MIA which the committee felt is valuable. 

The Better Bus project was referred by the City Commission on September 25, 2019 to the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) and will be presented to NCAC on October 23, 2019. 

Miami Beach Transit Pass Program

City employee participation in this fully subsidized program has been steady per below: 
- August 2019: 61 participants (11 residents, 50 non-residents)
- September 2019: 63 participants (11 residents, 52 non-residents)
- October 2019: 67 participants (11 residents, 56 non-residents)