Trump tweets about $100 million transit grant for Dade’s bus system
President Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed Washington would send $100 million to Miami-Dade for its planned rapid-transit bus system in South Dade, federal dollars that the county all but secured in February with a high rating from the Transportation Department.
“I’m excited to commit $100M to @MiamiDadeCounty, FL in @USDOT funding to connect fastgrowing communities through state-of-the-art transit service! Fast, safe, and beautiful infrastructure!” read the message posted on Trump’s Twitter account at 6:15 p.m.
Mayor Carlos Gimenez, a congressional candidate with Trump’s endorsement, confirmed the tweet’s topic in his own Twitter response later in the evening. “This will bring much needed transit relief to communities ranging from Florida City to Kendall, & we hope to have it running in the next couple of years,” Gimenez posted on Twitter.
Miami-Dade is already seeking bidders for the $300 million project, which would bring the county its first rapid-transit bus system.
Running along the existing busway, the plans call for a series of covered, air-conditioned stations with platforms allowing riders to purchase tickets in advance and enter the bus in groups and at street level. With buses running express routes and using overrides to switch red lights to green, the 20mile system is designed to replicate the perks of rail service at a fraction of the cost. The corridor was renamed the Transitway in 2016.
In 2018, South Dade mayors and others fought Miami-Dade to reject the bus system in favor of a Metrorail extension that would have cost $1.3 billion. Gimenez prevailed, pitching rapid-transit bus as a way to build the ridership that could justify rail in the future and deliver transit improvements quickly. Service could start as early as 2022.
Miami-Dade’s plans assumed $100 million from Washington and $100 million from Florida. The federal money looked like a lock in February when the county reported receiving a “high” score from the Federal Transit Administration for its $100 million request for the South Dade project. That type of rating typically means dollars will be awarded. In a press release at the time, the mayor’s office called the score “a critical step toward securing this important federal grant.”
There was no word from the Trump administration on the details of the presidential tweet or confirmation that the announcement referred to the South Dade project. Patricia Abril, press secretary for Gimenez, said Thursday the county’s Transportation Department confirmed the president was announcing federal dollars for the South Dade project.
The Miami-Dade tweet was in a string of presidential Twitter posts in recent days about federal funds for local transportation projects, including $65 million for a bus system in Utah and $100 million for light rail in Phoenix.