Draft:South Dade TransitWay

South Dade TransitWay
Overview
Locale	Miami-Dade County
Termini	Dadeland South SW 344th St Park & Ride
Service
Type	Bus rapid transit
System	Miami-Dade Transit
Technical
Line length	20 mi (32 km)
Character	At-grade with transit signal priority
Route map Metrorail ■■ Dadeland South SW 104 St / Killlian Dr SW 112 St / Killian Dr SW 120 St / Montgomery Dr SW 124 St / Chapman Field Dr SW 128 St SW 136 St SW 144 St / Mitchell Dr SW 152 St SW 160 St / Colonial Dr SW 168 St SW 173 St / Banyan Dr W Indigo St SW 184 St Marlin Dr SW 200 St SW 112 Ave SW 216 St SW 220 St / Old Cutler Rd SW 232 St / Silver Palm SW 244 St SW 264 St SW 272 St / Epmore Dr SW 280 St / Waldin Dr SW 296 St SW 312 St Civic Ct SW 324 St / SW 4 St SW 328 St / Lucy St SW 177 Ave / Krome Ave SW 344 St

The South Dade TransitWay is a busway in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The TransitWay parallels South Dixie Highway from Florida City to Dadeland, a distance of approximately 20 miles (32 km). The TransitWay is operated by Miami-Dade Transit, and is primarily used by Metrobus services. Built in WHICH YEAR? as the WHAT NAME? and expanded in WHICH OTHER YEAR?, the TransitWay was the first WHAT OF ITS KIND?.

Bus services on the TransitWay include local, limited-stop, and nonstop services. Limited and nonstop services operate primarily during weekday rush hours. Local services that exit the busway operate daily, and Metrobus route 38 runs the entire length of the busway with 24-hour service.

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Services

Route	Northern terminal	Southern terminal	Via	Service type	Notes
34 Transitway Express	Kendall Dadeland North station	Florida City Southwest 344th Street Park & Ride		Limited-stop	Peak period service only Peak direction trips operate with limited stops Reverse-peak direction trips operate nonstop via Florida's Turnpike
38 Transitway MAX				Local	24-hour service
39 Transitway Express		Cutler Bay South Dade Government Center		Limited-stop	Peak period service only Peak direction trips operate with limited stops Reverse-peak direction trips operate nonstop via Florida's Turnpike
52		Cutler Bay Doris Ison Health Center	Southwest 112th Avenue	Local
107	Sweetwater Dolphin Mall	Cutler Bay South Dade Government Center	Southwest 107th Avenue, Southwest 112th Avenue, Southwest 117th Avenue	Local
287 Saga Bay MAX	Kendall Dadeland South station	Cutler Bay Doris Ison Health Center	Southwest 87th Avenue	Local
Palmetto Bay I-Bus		Palmetto Bay St. Richards- Holy Rosary Catholic Church		Nonstop	Operated by the Village of Palmetto Bay Peak direction service only

from Metrobus article

a bus stop and a level crossing on the South Miami-Dade Busway (2012)

The South Dade TransitWay (originally named the South Dade Busway) is a basic bus rapid transit system, or busway, in southern Miami-Dade County. It began operating from the Dadeland South Metrorail station to SW 112th Avenue on February 3, 1997, and was extended to SW 264th Street on April 24, 2005. The final 6.5-mile (10.5 km) segment of the Busway extension to SW 344th Street in Florida City opened on Sunday, December 16, 2007. It is parallel to US1/ S Dixie Highway, and runs along the abandoned Florida East Coast Railway line. It is an alternative to daily traffic congestion. The 13-mile (21 km) roadway was built by the Florida Department of Transportation just for Metrobus routes and emergency vehicles. Express buses on the exclusive lanes shuttle passengers to and from Dadeland South Station (see Metrorail) in about an hour or less.

Both full-size and articulated buses operate on the Busway and in adjacent neighborhoods, entering the exclusive lanes at major intersections. Local and limited-stop service is offered between Florida City and Dadeland South Metrorail Station. Park & Ride lots along the busway are located at SW 152d Street (Coral Reef Drive), SW 168th Street (Richmond Drive), SW 112th Avenue, SW 244th Street, and SW 296th Street. At Dadeland South Station, riders transfer to Metrorail. Riders headed downtown can transfer from Metrorail to Metromover, which consists of three shorter downtown loops, at Government Center Station.

The South Miami-Dade Busway features 28 stops, all of which look like light-rail style stations. A multi-use path stretches the length of the Busway. The busway stops featured large shelters to provide protection from the sun and rain. These are currently being rebuilt with the reconstruction of the South Dade TransitWay.

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has given the Busway a preliminary classification as a "Basic BRT" corridor.

Routes that use the transitway

• 34 TransitWay Express - Travels the entire length of the transitway, but does not stop at any stops before Southland Mall. It also bypasses the transitway via the Turnpike Highway on a bi-directional basis.
• 38 TransitWay MAX - Travels the entire length of the transitway and deviates from the route slightly to serve Southland Mall.
• 39 TransitWay Express - Travels between Dadeland North Metrorail Station and Southland Mall, but does not stop at any stops before SW 152nd Street. It also bypasses the transitway via the Turnpike Highway on a bi-directional basis.
• 52 - Begins at Dadeland North Metrorail Station, then runs along the transitway to SW 152nd street, before becoming a Richmond Heights and Goulds local route.
• 97 - Serves the stop at 173rd street and a route that travels through Perrine, Florida, and Quail Roost DR which every bus passes every half-hour.
• 287 Saga Bay MAX - Begins at Dadeland South Metrorail Station, then runs along the transitway to SW 168th Street, before running as an express route through West Perrine and Saga Bay.

Busway vs. rail controversy

The Busway has been the site of many accidents, as some car drivers driving south on US 1 (which runs parallel to the Busway for much of its length) and looking to turn west do not stop at the red arrows that govern the right turn lane at an intersection that has a Busway crossing adjacent to it. They make a right turn and go right into the path of a bus that is entering the adjacent Busway intersection. Buses currently must slow down to 15 mph (24 km/h) before crossing the intersection, and the police often patrol the intersections looking for red arrow runners. Surprisingly, even the intersections on which the Busway runs as far as two blocks west of US 1 suffer the same problem, with car drivers not seeing or flatly ignoring the red lights at SW 184th and 186th Streets. City planners and residents alike have commented that rather than dismantling the former Florida East Coast Railroad line for the busway, the Metrorail system could have been extended southward over the railway line.

Major incidents

April 2012: In the early morning hours of Friday April 13, 2012, an SUV driving southbound illegally down the Busway (as it was known then) by a drunk driver at more than 100 miles per hour (against a 40 mile per hour speed limit) slammed into a mini-van traveling eastbound on SW 184th Street, t-boning the eastbound vehicle, continuing southbound before spiraling out of control, and stopped adjacent to the Northbound SW 184th Street station. One teen was killed, three others (including the drunk driver) were injured, and the drunk driver was arrested. Fortunately, no Metrobus drivers or passengers were injured or killed as no buses were passing through SW 184th Street or stopping at the SW 184th Street stations at the time of the crash. However, the crash caused delays to several Metrobus routes as portions of both SW 184th Street and the Busway were shut down for an extended period of time.

September 2017: On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall in Cudjoe Key as a Category 4 Hurricane. Although the Transitway did not receive hurricane-force winds, several canopies were damaged during the hurricane and subsequently removed. The replacement of canopies fell behind schedule and remains unfinished, as of March 2018.

February 2019: On February 6, 2019, a car and bus collided near SW 248th Street. There were no fatalities. However, fourteen people were injured, two seriously.

Future (Gold Standard Bus Rapid Transit)

The Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works broke ground on the South Dade TransitWay gold standard bus rapid transit line on June 4, 2021. It will provide a direct transfer to the Metrorail at the Dadeland South Station, extending Miami-Dade Transit's rapid transit system up to Florida City. The opening of the gold standard BRT line is expected for 2025. The new line will have 2 terminals and 14 new iconic BRT stations, all featuring fare gates, center platform boarding, all-door and level boarding, next bus arrival screens, air conditioned waiting areas, and other rail-like amenities. These stations can be converted to Metrorail stations in the future. Signal preemption and level crossing gates will be implemented at various roadway intersections along the transitway. The BRT will use 60-foot New Flyer Xcelsior battery-electric articulated buses. Also in the works is the South Dade Transit Operations Center. It will be the first all-electric bus maintenance facility in Miami-Dade County and it will be located next to the Homestead Air Reserve Base. This facility will charge and maintain the 100 60-foot battery-electric articulated buses of the South Dade TransitWay and will host parts and equipment for maintenance of the transitway's gate arms.

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  Photo showing construction of Marlin Road station. This station will be served by the BRT line.
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  Photo showing a gate arm at the SW 200th Street intersection that will go down when a BRT vehicle is approaching.
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  Photo showing construction of the new SW 200th Street station. This station will be served by the BRT line.
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  Photo showing construction of the new SW 264th Street station. This station will be served by the BRT line.