Miami-Dade Bus Cuts Face August Town Halls

Miami-Dade bus riders have a live budget fight to watch this month: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's proposed FY 2026-27 budget keeps the county operating property tax rate flat, but it also calls for targeted cuts to low-ridership bus service, including early-morning and late-night trips.

The proposal is now in its public-input phase. County budget town halls are scheduled across August, including a Friday, August 7 meeting at Miami-Dade Main Public Library, followed by meetings on August 10, August 19, and August 31. Final budget hearings are scheduled to begin September 3 before county commissioners vote on the spending plan.

What Would Change

The clearest rider consequence is the proposed elimination of 12 bus routes. CBS Miami reported that the plan also would reduce service times on 82 other routes and affect about 7,500 people, or roughly 10% of current riders. The station reported that county officials described the proposal as the first route eliminations from the budget since 2009.

WLRN identified the routes proposed for elimination as 16, 25, 42, 57, 70, 132, 203, 204, 272, 279, 288, and 338, and reported that those routes carry about 4,400 rides per weekday, roughly 2% of county rides.

Miami Today reported a sharper early-and-late-service impact: service before 5:59 a.m. would end on 44 county-operated bus routes, service after 10:01 p.m. would end on 38 county-operated routes, and four contract-operated routes also would lose some early-morning or late-night service.

Why Riders And Employers Care

For riders, the budget question is not just whether a route disappears. It is whether a shift worker, hospital employee, airport worker, student, or caregiver can still make the first leg of a commute before dawn or the last trip home at night.

The timing matters because early and late trips are often the least flexible parts of a workday. A rider may be able to wait longer at midday, but missing the first bus can mean missing a clock-in time, a medical shift, or a school drop-off.

The mayor's office says transit remains a priority and that the proposed budget increases transit spending by $66 million. The county also says the plan protects Special Transportation Services and MetroConnect while avoiding a fare or fuel-tax increase. The tradeoff, according to the county, is that long-term transit funding pressures and state budget cuts have reduced dedicated revenues.

That leaves commissioners with a practical choice before the September hearings: accept service reductions, find other revenue or savings, or change the transit package before the final vote. Levine Cava told CBS Miami that the county does not have money to run the system without a fare increase or other revenues.

What Happens Next

The August town halls are the most immediate opening for public input. Residents can press county officials on which trips would vanish, what alternatives would exist for affected riders, and whether small rerouting changes would be enough for people whose workdays start before regular bus service.

The key dates are the remaining budget town halls on August 10, August 19, and August 31, then the September hearings. Until commissioners adopt a final budget, the proposed bus cuts are not final.