Hi everyone! I recently spent a weekend in Miami. It was a very relaxed trip with a loose agenda, so I decided to take some time and try to figure out how the system of public transportation in Miami worked. Let me tell you – it was NOT easy to figure out as someone who is not from Miami and was not familiar with the area. In this guide I’ll share the four most common transportation methods and the best websites and apps for each.
1. Rideshares
I know, this one is obvious because Ubers and Lyfts are everywhere. The pro for using one of these rideshare options is the time you’ll save. If you’re short on time or trying to get somewhere quickly, I would absolutely recommend this option. There are TONS of full time rideshare drivers in Miami, and I never waited more than two or three minutes for one to pick me up. In my experience, Lyft was way cheaper than Uber while I was in Miami. It could be worth downloading both apps if you don’t already have them to compare current prices before choosing which one you want to use!
However, if you’ve ever used these services in a big city, you know that they are certainly not the most cost-efficient option. Therefore, if you’re going to Miami on a budget, I would recommend one of the following three options.
2. Trolley System
Miami is home to a completely FREE trolley public transportation service. Information about the trolleys is listed on their government website here: https://www.miamigov.com/Transportation-Roadways/Trolley-Information/View-Trolley-Tracker. However, I found the website to be fairly confusing and not always accurate. Instead I ended up downloading an app called “Trolley” (picture below) that a local Miami resident recommended to me.
The app, in my short experience was extremely accurate. It is a real-time map of each active trolley for the date, where it’s currently located, and the route it’s on. It also shows your current location, so you can see where you are relative to the closest trolley.
The downside of the app is that it does not list all the stops – likely because there really is a stop about every block. What that means, though, is that you really have to pay attention to where you’re going. I kept the app open for most of my rides and watched where the trolley was moving on the map. That way, I would know when I was close to the area I needed to get off.
The other issue is that I could never find anything that would help me change trolleys. Say you’re going from point A to point C, and you have to get on a different trolley line at point B – that part was pretty confusing to me, but the trolley operators were all SO kind and helpful. On more than one occasion, I would just say “I’m trying to get to point A; can you help me get there?” and they would tell me exactly when to get off the trolley and where to go next.
A lot of you might also have questions about safety. I will say this: it is FREE transportation. This means that people who likely can’t afford to pay for transportation are using this service. With that being said, I never felt unsafe. Was it a little out of my comfort zone? Sure. But I was surrounded by nice people who absolutely would have helped me if I needed it (again, not to mention the drivers who were all amazing in my experiences).
Next, Miami and Miami Beach have different trolley systems! It’s the same trolleys, and you can use the same website and app, but you can’t start in Miami and get to the beach without going somewhere to change trolley lines first. The last thing to note is that not every trolley line runs every single day so make sure you check on that (the app I recommended will tell you which ones are actively running!).
3. Metrorail
The metrorail is a 25-mile-long dual track that operates like a train. The official website for the metrorail is here: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/transportation/metrorail.page. Unlike the trolley page, I found this one to be very helpful and accurate. The metrorail is not free, but it is still extremely cost efficient compared to an Uber or Lyft.
Now I’ll be totally honest here: I figured this one out with some luck and a prayer. I was trying to use the trolley system and had to change lines. I was waiting on the new trolley to get to where I was, and it was showing almost 30 minutes until the next one came. I didn’t want to wait that long and waste so much time since I was only there for a weekend. In the Brickell area (downtown Miami) the hub is home to the trolleys, buses, and the metrorail which makes it super convenient to use more than one mode of transportation.
Since I decided I didn’t want to wait, I started looking at what my next best option was and went to check out the metrorail station. There are plenty of kiosks at each station and you have to buy a ticket before you can enter the actual platform where it boards and departs from. I really had no clue what I was doing but again, there was a super helpful lady working there who showed me everything I needed: how to buy my ticket, which direction to board the metrorail, and which stop to get off for where I was trying to go.
My one-time/one-way ticket purchase was $2.25. I checked both Uber and Lyft to compare what the price would have been and Uber was sitting at about $28 to get me where I wanted to go – talk about a steal to use the metrorail! I had to wait about five minutes for the next train to show up and then I was on my way.
In terms of safety, this felt a little better to me than the trolley. Like I said, I never felt unsafe on the trolley either, but the metrorail had ZERO sketchiness about it in my experience. I will say, I rode it in the middle of the day so I can’t speak to what it would be like at nighttime. If you plan ahead and know what you need you can also buy more than just a one-way pass; you can buy two-way tickets, day passes, seven-day passes, etc.
4. Busses
Lastly, Miami has a bus system to offer, referred to as the Metrobus. The bus system is very similar to the metrorail system in that a one-way ticket will cost you $2.25 and there are options to buy day passes, etc. The easiest way to go about this is to download an app like GO Miami-Dade Transit Mobile App (you can read more about it here: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1578323661475590). Just make sure you know what your plans are before you use this app to buy tickets, because they auto-expire a few hours after purchase for single-way tickets. However, this will be easiest way because you can just board your bus and scan the pass on your app.
The bus stations coincide with the other transit stations as well, because as I said earlier there may be a situation where you have to use more than one mode of transportation; ie. a trolley and then a bus. The great thing about the bus system is that it spans a much wider area than the other modes of public transit. The bus system can get you to Miami Beach (unlike the trolley where it’s two separate lines), Key Biscayne, and the Middle Keys. If you’re wanting to take a day trip a little further away, this is definitely your best bet.
In terms of safety, this one will probably also feel best. There’s a lot more privacy to be had on a bus than there is on the trolleys or metrorail, in which the seats line the walls and everyone faces each other. As always, the main key to safety is just being aware of your surroundings and your belongings.
Final Thoughts:
I actually had a blast trying to figure all of this out on the go. I definitely lost time by making a few mistakes though, so if you’re trying to do this as efficiently as possible, I would HIGHLY recommend planning out your trip beforehand. Knowing which routes and which modes you need will make things go a lot more smoothly than trying to figure it out on the fly like I did. In my experience, it was more than worth it to save a ton of money and use the public transportation rather than ridesharing, which can cost a small fortune in Miami.
I hope this was helpful! Let me know if you guys have any questions, or if you’re a local and you have any other helpful information!
