Transit fares could be increasing for Miami-Dade’s bus and Metrorail riders

Bus and train passengers in Miami-Dade are one vote away from seeing their first fare hike in 13 years, with the County Commission set to decide the issue Tuesday.

Read more Transit fares could be increasing for Miami-Dade’s bus and Metrorail riders

While would increase the current $2.25 fare to $2.75 next spring, that may not be the only option. Commissioners could opt for a 25-cent increase if they don’t have the votes for the full 50-cent increase. Or the measure could die for lack of support — as it did a year ago when Mayor Daniella Levine Cava asked commissioners to approve higher fares to plug revenue holes in the county’s beleaguered transit budget.

While transit advocates successfully fought back higher prices for passengers last year, this time around, the proposal has more support. In September, commissioners adopted cuts in late-night bus service that Levine Cava had proposed to temporarily balance the transit budget. But the mayor now says that if passengers pay more, the extra dollars could be used to reverse at least some of the planned cuts.

The Levine Cava administration has , and the cost of restoring late-night bus service at $10.4 million. Should commissioners just approve a 25-cent fare increase, bringing the fare to $2.50, it’s not clear what those extra dollars would restore once the service cuts are set to go into effect in the spring.

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“If the county doesn’t find $10.5 million, then 3,200 riders have no ride home in the middle of the night come March,” Cathy Dos Santos, executive director at the Transit Alliance Miami advocacy group, told the Miami Herald. “Fare increases can address this gap this time, and addressing the gap is the most critical thing.”

Still, Dos Santos said it’s important that Miami-Dade boost existing efforts to make transit free or less costly for low-income riders. The county currently provides half-price fare cards for the working poor and free transit through limited programs run by nonprofits.

Miami-Dade has not increased its transit fares since 2013.

“It has been 13 years since fares were increased, while operating costs and service demands have continued to rise,” Levine Cava wrote in her final budget memo, encouraging commissioners to raise fares.

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This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 3:19 PM.