Public transport in Miami

Overview

Miami's public transport is run mainly by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), the largest transit system in Florida and, as of 2011, the 14th largest in the United States. The network combines heavy rail (Metrorail), an automated downtown people mover (Metromover), a county-wide bus system (Metrobus), free local trolleys, and the three-county commuter rail line Tri-Rail. Miami has the highest public transport usage of any city in Florida, with roughly 17% of Miamians using transit regularly.

For a visitor, the system works best as a hub-and-spoke arrangement. Metrorail is the backbone: you ride it between the airport, downtown, Brickell, Coconut Grove, and Dadeland, then switch to Metromover for the downtown and Brickell core or to Metrobus for everywhere else. Tri-Rail links Miami-Dade with Broward and Palm Beach counties, and Brightline provides fast intercity service. One practical caveat: South Florida is one of the most sprawled and automobile-dependent metropolitan areas in the United States, and only about 13% of the region's office space sits in Miami's central business district, so transit access between people and jobs remains limited. Plan your trip around the rail and trolley corridors where possible.

The network

Metrorail (heavy rail). Florida's only heavy rail mass transit system, Metrorail runs 25 miles (about 24 miles per some sources) with 23 stations, entirely within Miami-Dade County and centered on Miami. It has two color-coded routes:

Green Line — Palmetto Station in the northwest to Dadeland South.
Orange Line — branches at Earlington Heights to Miami International Airport (MIA), a connection created in 2012 by the AirportLink project.

Trains run roughly 5 AM to midnight daily. At rush hour, the overlapping lines give service about every 5 minutes; off-peak it is 7–15 minutes, and weekends 15–20 minutes. Useful stations include Government Center and Brickell (both transfer points to Metromover), Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre (next to Brightline's MiamiCentral), Vizcaya, Coconut Grove, and Dadeland.

Metromover (automated guideway transit). A free elevated people mover serving downtown Miami and Brickell, with 3 loops, 21 stations, and about 4.4 miles of track. The loops are the Inner loop (downtown business district, clockwise), the Omni loop (north to the Arts and Entertainment District and School Board Station), and the Brickell loop (south to the financial district and Brickell City Centre). It runs about 5:30 AM–10 PM daily, every 90 seconds at rush hour and roughly every 3 minutes off-peak. It connects to Metrorail at Government Center and Brickell. Notable stations include Bayfront Park (Bayside Marketplace), Adrienne Arsht Center, Museum Park (Pérez Art Museum and Frost Science Museum), Park West (Kaseya Center), and Freedom Tower. The system became entirely free in 2002 when the 25-cent fare was lifted, after which ridership spiked by more than 60% within two years; it is now considered a vital part of downtown life.

Metrobus. Miami-Dade County's bus system, with more than 95 routes, a fleet of 800–1,000 buses, and about 29 million miles traveled per year. It runs 365 days a year, with some routes operating 24 hours. Coverage spans Miami-Dade County — including Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, west Miami-Dade, Homestead, and Florida City — and extends north into Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) and south toward the Middle Keys. Key routes for visitors include the 150 Miami Beach Airport Express (MIA to Mid Beach via the Julia Tuttle Causeway, limited-stop to South Beach), the 120 Beach MAX (downtown to Miami Beach via Collins Avenue), the 24-hour Route 3 along Biscayne Boulevard, Route 8 through Little Havana on Flagler Street, and Routes 7/7A near LoanDepot Park.

Free trolleys. The City of Miami Trolley operates 13 routes, including the Brickell Trolley, the Wynwood Trolley, the Little Havana route along Calle Ocho, and the Coconut Grove Trolley (which links to Douglas Metrorail station). Service is roughly every 10–15 minutes, Monday–Saturday 8 AM–11 PM (some sources note every 20 minutes). The Miami Beach Trolley runs 4 routes (South Beach, Mid-Beach, North Beach), daily 8 AM–11 PM, about every 20 minutes, including the South Beach Loop and the Collins Express.

Tri-Rail (commuter rail). A 73-mile regional rail line from Miami to West Palm Beach via Fort Lauderdale, with 19 stations across three counties. It runs west of South Florida's major downtowns on a former CSX line and was introduced as an alternative to congestion on Interstate 95. In Miami-Dade it stops at Hialeah Market, the Tri-Rail/Metrorail Transfer Station (nearest to Amtrak), Opa Locka, and Golden Glades before crossing into Broward County. Key stations include Miami Airport (connected to MIA by the MIA Mover) and MiamiCentral downtown (near Brightline and Metromover). Weekday peak headways are about 30 minutes; weekends run about every 60 minutes off-peak.

Brightline (intercity rail). A privately owned intercity service with 6 stations: MiamiCentral, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Orlando International Airport. Travel times include Miami–Fort Lauderdale in 30–38 minutes, Miami–West Palm Beach just over an hour, and Miami–Orlando about 3 hours 25 minutes, with a top speed of 125 mph on the Orlando run. There are about 16 daily round trips between Miami and Orlando and 18 daily frequencies within South Florida.

Amtrak. Two daily long-distance services, the Silver Meteor and Silver Star, run from New York City via Washington, D.C., Savannah, Orlando, and Tampa, calling at the Miami Amtrak station at 8303 NW 37th Avenue, next to the Metrorail Transfer Station.

Tickets & fares

Fares below are approximate and subject to change — always confirm current prices with the operator before you travel.

Metrorail and Metrobus base fare: $2.25 per single trip. Express routes to other counties cost $2.65.
Daily cap: $5.65 with contactless payment, regardless of how many rides you take; rides after the cap are free until midnight.
Payment methods: You can tap a contactless credit card or phone directly. The EASY Card is a rechargeable fare card, and the EASY Ticket is purchasable at select stations. Both can be bought at the Metrorail station at MIA or at Terminal E of MIA. Cash is accepted on buses with exact change.
Transfers: Bus-to-rail and rail-to-bus transfers are free when you use the same payment method. Tri-Rail offers a free transfer to Metrorail with a valid Tri-Rail ticket.
Metromover: entirely free.
Tri-Rail: fares vary by distance and discount, roughly $1.25–$17.50. A weekend and holiday all-day pass costs $5 for unlimited travel in all zones. Tickets must be purchased before boarding, from ticket vending machines at any station or from ticket clerks at staffed stations; tickets are checked on board and travelling without one can incur a substantial fine.
Brightline: SMART (business class) fares run roughly $11–$28 between South Florida cities, while PREMIUM (first class) fares for Miami–Orlando start around $149. SMART includes Wi-Fi and snacks/drinks for purchase; PREMIUM adds lounge access, complimentary food and drinks, extra legroom, and a free Uber within 5 miles of South Florida stations.
Tri-Rail parking: paid parking at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (Dania Beach) and Miami Airport stations costs about $2 hourly, $12 daily, or $125 monthly; Tri-Rail passengers can register for 12 hours of free parking.

The GO Miami-Dade Transit app lets you buy and manage fares contactlessly and provides real-time tracking of Metrorail and Metromover, bus schedules, connecting route information, nearest stops and stations, fare costs, and maps. You can also text a bus ID number to GOMDT (46638) for arrival information. For short stays, the contactless daily cap often makes an EASY Card unnecessary.

From the airport

Miami International Airport (MIA) sits about 8 miles northwest of downtown. Public transport and car rental are located at the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), a short shuttle train ride from the terminals — follow signs for the "MIA Mover." The MIC is intended to become Miami's Grand Central station, with connections to Metrorail (and onward to Metromover), Greyhound, Megabus, Tri-Rail, taxis, Metrobus, and all car-rental facilities.

Metrorail Orange Line: the cheapest and fastest option. Take the free MIA Mover from terminal level 3 to the Metrorail station, then ride the Orange Line to Government Center, about 20 minutes, for $2.25. From Government Center you can transfer to buses for most destinations, and many hotels are along the Metromover one level below the station.
Bus 150 (Miami Beach Airport Express): runs to Miami Beach every 30 minutes, 6 AM–11:40 PM, for $2.25, taking 45–60 minutes. The 100 bus also serves Miami Beach from the MIC.
Taxi or rideshare: taxis have been metered since 2022 after flat rates were eliminated, roughly $25–$35 to downtown and $35–$45 to South Beach, plus a $2 airport surcharge. Uber and Lyft are also available.
If your destination is far from a Metrorail station, a taxi or rental car from the MIC may be more practical.

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is 25–40 minutes north of Miami proper, depending on traffic, and generally serves fewer international routes but is smaller and easier to navigate. From FLL, a free "FLL-Tri-Rail" shuttle bus connects to the nearby Tri-Rail Fort Lauderdale Airport Station; Tri-Rail trains link West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami (at the Miami Airport station, not downtown). Alternatively, the #1 Broward County Bus runs to Aventura Mall, where you can transfer to the S Miami-Dade bus to downtown Miami via South Beach, or take the 93 to Miami from Aventura Mall — though this is inadvisable with a lot of luggage.

Etiquette & customs

Queuing: Board buses and trains in the order you arrive at the stop or platform, and let passengers exit before you board.
Escalators: Stand on the right and walk on the left, the standard convention in U.S. transit systems.
Priority seating: Seats near the doors are reserved for elderly riders, pregnant passengers, and people with disabilities; give them up when needed.
Eating and drinking: Keep food and drinks off the trains and buses where possible; Metrorail and Metromover cars are not dining spaces.
Rush hour: Peak periods on Metrorail are busy, with trains every 5 minutes on the overlapping lines. Stand clear of the doors and move into the car to make room.
Language: At MIA and across much of Miami, Spanish is just as likely to be understood as English, so don't be surprised if announcements and conversations are bilingual.
Seasonality: Traffic, transit ridership, and flight volumes are all generally greater in the winter season, so allow extra time then.

Official links

Survival terms

subway/metro — metro (Metrorail in Miami; Spanish metro is widely understood)
ticket — billete (bee-YEH-teh) / boleto (bo-LEH-toh)
line — línea (LEE-neh-ah)
entrance — entrada (en-TRAH-dah)
exit — salida (sah-LEE-dah)
transfer — transbordo (trans-BOR-doh) / transferencia (trans-feh-REN-see-ah)
single fare — tarifa sencilla (tah-REE-fah sen-SEE-yah)
day pass — pase de día (PAH-seh deh DEE-ah)

Before you travel, download the GO Miami-Dade Transit app and check current fares and schedules, since prices and service frequencies change and the contactless daily cap can save you money on a busy day of sightseeing.