public transportation

In recent years, snazzy trolleys painted like old-timey street cars have been rolling on Miami-Dade streets. They're free to ride and hit hotspots from Miami’s Midtown to Coral Gables.

But what's gotten the county, and some of its cities, in trouble with the federal government is where the trolleys don’t go: the West Grove, a predominately black neighborhood in the city of Miami.

Miami’s West Grove residents, unhappy a trolley garage servicing Coral Gables was built in their neighborhood, may soon be able to claim a small victory. After a series of legal battles including a civil-rights investigation, Coral Gables and the garage's developer are now looking to pull out of the West Grove.

A new ridership report from the American Public Transportation Association says overall, more people are using public transportation in South Florida than last year, specifically in Miami, West Palm Beach, and Pompano Beach.

In Miami, bus and MetroMover numbers were up from last year. Way up was the MetroRail ridership, which increased by 10 percent.

A U.S. Army veteran from Miami-Dade County has been told he's not "honorable" enough to qualify for a veteran's transit pass and he's filed a lawsuit against the county transit agency.

It's a dispute over words and how the military grades soldiers as they return to civilian life. But a benefit hanging in the balance could potentially make a big difference in the lives of low-income veterans.

About a year ago, the city of Homestead was designated "The Gateway To Biscayne and Everglades National Parks." This past weekend the city launched its first free, guided trolley ride into the parks, which the city hopes will see more local visitors with the start of the new service.

For our If I Were Mayor project, we asked what you would do if you were in charge of your town. Now, after the elections, we’re taking your ideas to the mayors. I spoke to Philip Levine, who was sworn in as the new mayor of Miami Beach Monday, Nov. 25.

This is Levine's first time in elected office; he is the CEO of a multi-million dollar cruise ship media business. 

Here are highlights from that interview:

Once again, Miami-Dade County is studying whether a light-rail train from mainland Miami to the beach would actually work.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez and the county’s metropolitan planning organization think it could be a solution to the traffic problems of South Beach. If traffic gets worse, Gimenez has said it will “kill the tourism industry.”  

A History Of Light Rail

Steve Augello lives in Spring Hill Florida, just outside of Tampa. Like a lot of dads, he always made his 17-year-old daughter, Alessandra, check-in with him when she was out. Augello also had a rule.

“You weren’t allowed to have that cell phone out while you’re driving,” Augello remembers telling Alessandra. “I even tested her a few times I called her when she was driving and it always went right through to the recorder.”

Several times a week, Miami reminds me of Los Angeles. For better and worse. We're both the land of sunshine, palm trees (theirs are taller) and beautiful beaches (ours are nicer based on ocean temperature and clarity, but we're missing out on the mountains). And both places have much beneath the surface of our beautiful things. Extreme wealth and poverty pressed up against each other, but rarely mixing -- largely because both places are so deeply devoted to the automobile.