MDT Summary

Route 288 (SW 88th Avenue): The Miami-Dade Transit would like to improve ridership along Kendall Drive. The improvements would be achieved in incremental setting. During Phase I, which was completed in 2010, a new Route 288 which features 12 minute peak-hour headways using 60 foot diesel/electric hybrid buses, WiFi, and real-time Where is the Bus? information. Phase II, which plans to be completed in 2022, consists robust stations, queue jump lanes, transit signal priority, and realtime Next Bus arrival information via electronic signs. Route 288 runs on SW 88th Avenue with stations at hospital, malls and shopping centers, employment centers, parks and venues, and education centers. Major Stations: West Kendall Baptist Hospital, Kendall Village and Dadeland Mall, Palms at Town and Country, Barry University, College of Business and Technology, Jones College, Nova Southeastern University, and WInston Linear Park.

Metro Bus Service: Fare Structure:

Information System: MDTs current information system include a call center which provide service inquries about MDT transit service, and provide feedback to better understand the needs of passengers and ridership. MDT also serves a website that provides access to up-to-date information about MDT

and records all relevant information about the public transit system. The website is also linked various useful government website to provide other service for the citizens. Metrobus new vehicle replacement: In 2010, MDT acquired 13 40-foot diesel/electric hybrid buses to put into service in 2010. MDT also made delivery of 5 40-foot diesel/electric hybrids to put into service in 2011. MDT has not made decision if to purchase additional hybrid, clean diesel, or other alternative fuel buses in immediate future. MDT currently operates 43 diesel/electric hybrid buses and 25 are 60-foot articulated buses that use a B5 (5%) blend of biodiesel with ultra low sulfur diesel fuel in the fleet.

Park-and-ride: MDT is planning to construct free parking spaces, and provides real time parking space counter to encourage people drive to transit hub and continue traveling by public transportation rather than private cars. Kendall Drive is one of the main station for park-and-ride service. The SW 127th Avenue/Kendall Drive will serve the Kendall Cruiser in June 2010. The completion date for this facilities is estimated in end of 2014. SW 88th/Kendall Drive and SW 105th Avenue will first serve towards BRT and complete the full infrastructure for metro bus system by mid 2016. Ten Year Implementation Plan: 2012 Operating service improvements and adjustments includes: Kendall Drive/SW 105th Ave: minor schedule adjustment on afternoon westbound trips. West Kendall transit terminal: weekday schedule adjustment in both directions to improve reliability and minor weekday adjustment eastbound trips. 2023 Recommended Service Plan: Commitment to current metrobus routes in order to generate revenue, manage costs, and expand properly. The current system is the base for any adjustment and improvement. Service route improvement and adjustment is planned to be implemented in a ten year planning horizon.

Current transit joint development and transit oriented development projects:

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MTVA Summary
Background: The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MTVA) serves five suburbs located approx. 15 miles south of Minneapolis. The MTVA is funded partly from the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax and derived around 30% of operating costs from passenger fares. The average daily ridership as of 2012 is 9500, which amounts to approx. 3.5 million rides annually. Recently, the MTVA launched a demo of articulated buses from February 25- March 7 to conduct a study to consider purchasing and operating the buses. More information on the demo: http://www.mvta.com/uploads/artic_Layout_1.pdf The Demo/Study: The articulated buses are operated on various routes with different daily demand. Major routes during the weekdays are ones that run through the city center. Each bus will have a seating capacity of 62 and standing capacity of 100. Feedback on the buses is then taken using a survey. The survey includes different criteria including bus number boarded, quality of ride, seating, placement of seating and other bus features. Results: From the 9-day demo, the MTVA managed to collect responses from 278 individuals, where over 40% rode on the Route 442 that runs through the city center and to the main mall. Over 80% of all responses use the bus at least 4 days per week. The survey, though not very representative due to a small sample size, shows that the articulated buses are generally very well received. The responses show that ride quality, seating as well as other factors such as interior ventilation and visibility are excellent. Lack of vibration and sway during rides are rated at 4/5 by the majority while the rest falls under excellent. Our takeaways: TCAT currently serves 4.1 million rides annually as of 2012, which is a little more than that of MTVA. The results from the MTVAs demo of articulated buses suggest that they can seriously be implemented on selected Routes for TCAT. More detailed study on the demo such as specific demand on the routes MTVA deployed the articulated buses will be conducted for a better comparison with TCAT routes.