Public Transit
Miami's public transportation is served by Miami-Dade Transit that runs Metrorail, a heavy rail rapid transit system, Metromover, a people mover train system in Downtown Miami, and Metrobus, Miami's bus system. Metrorail runs throughout Miami-Dade County and has two lines and 23 stations connecting to Downtown Miami's Metromover and Tri-Rail. Metromover has three lines and 21 stations throughout Downtown Miami. Outside of Miami-Dade County, public transit in the Miami metropolitan area is served by Broward County Transit and Palm Tran; intercounty commuter rail service is provided by Tri-Rail, with 18 stations including the region's three international airports.
Orlando utilizes the LYNX bus system as well as a downtown bus service called LYMMO, and has attempted to plan a local light rail service for years. A commuter rail service – SunRail – has been approved by all concerning counties and is in final planning stages.
Tampa and its surrounding area use the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority system ( "HART"). In addition, downtown Tampa has continuous trolley services in the form of a heritage trolley powered by Tampa Electric Company. Pinellas County and St. Petersburg provide similar services through the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority or "PSTA". The beaches of Pinellas County also have a continuous trolley bus. Downtown St. Petersburg has a trolley system.
| Largest public transit systems in Florida | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City | Weekday passenger ridership |
Population served |
% of population on transit |
Modes of transit |
| 1 | Miami | 367,000 | 2,554,776 | 14.4% | Tri-Rail (commuter rail), Miami Metrorail (heavy rail), Metromover (people mover) & Metrobus |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale | 147,718 | 1,748,066 | 8.5% | Tri-Rail (commuter rail) & BCT bus |
| 3 | Orlando | 93,200 | 2,134,411 | 4.4% | LYNX bus |
| 4 | Gainesville | 50,500 | 125,326 | 40.3% | RTS bus |
| 5 | Tampa | 50,400 | 1,229,226 | 4.1% | HART bus & TECO Line Streetcar |
| 6 | West Palm Beach | 45,100 | 1,320,134 | 3.4% | Tri-Rail (commuter rail) & Palm Tran (bus) |
| 7 | Saint Petersburg | 42,500 | 916,542 | 4.6% | PSTA bus |
| 8 | Jacksonville | 41,500 | 821,784 | 5.0% | JTA bus & Skyway (people mover) |
| 9 | Tallahassee | 22,400 | 181,376 | 12.4% | StarMetro bus |
Read more about this topic: Sports In Florida, Infrastructure, Transportation
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—Molière [Jean Baptiste Poquelin] (1622–1673)
“My esoteric doctrine, is that if you entertain any doubt, it is safest to take the unpopular side in the first instance. Transit from the unpopular, is easy ... but from the popular to the unpopular is so steep and rugged that it is impossible to maintain it.”
—William Lamb Melbourne, 2nd Viscount (1779–1848)