This “virtual train” debuted in China in June. Gimenez says it would also have climate-controlled stations where passengers would pre-pay for their tickets. “For all intents and purposes, the passenger doesn’t know it’s not a train.” “It operates just like a train,” he says. Gimenez says it would drive in specially designated, no-car traffic lanes and get automatic green lights. It’s battery-powered and guided by sensors that detect the dimensions of the road. It has several cars, sliding doors and a capacity of 307 passengers.īut like a bus, it runs on roads, has rubber tires and a driver. On his smartphone, he’s got an article with a picture of what looks like a sleek, bright green high-speed train. “I know your listeners can’t see this, but is it a train or a bus?” Gimenez asks. The switch has frustrated some Miami-Dade residents and leaders who say the county's shirking an expansion of the Metrorail system for which they authorized a sales tax increase way back in 2002.īut Gimenez says times have changed and these aren’t exhaust-spewing, stop-every-block kind of buses. So he’s instead recommending rapid transit buses because “you don’t have to build all that massive infrastructure that’s required of trains and rail.” But Gimenez has recently said the county can’t afford the estimated $3.3 billion or more in construction costs. In its original form, the SMART (Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit Plan) involved building light rail along six high-traffic “corridors” traversing the county. It’s a little ironic because the mayor has gotten a lot of questions recently about the county’s plan for reducing traffic by improving public transit.

An aide says the mayor has half an hour and I-95 “is a parking lot.” Clark Center in downtown Miami to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens for an El Clásico event. He’s supposed to go from his office at the Stephen P. on a Friday and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez is about to run late.

Miami dade transportation