• Part OneFive years of the transit tax

  County leaders promised to bring Miami-Dade Transit into the 21st Century once voters approved a long-sought sales tax in 2002. But five years and more than $800 million later, the county has spent more than half the new money on routine Transit operations and maintenance.

• Part TwoExpensive empty buses

  The promises that preceded the 2002 Transit tax vote have come up as empty as the Route 82 bus. In January, it served so few passengers that it cost Miami-Dade County taxpapers $30 a ride about 13 times the average cost of a Miami-Dade bus.

• Part ThreeGetting back on track

  Miami-Dade Commissioners are set this week to consider various ways to put the county's wayward transit system back on track. They would all cost you more money.

• Part FourTax money inflated salaries, overtime

  More money for routine transit operations, including salaries, means less money to buy new buses and rail cars and to design and build new Metrorail extensions.

Aides and secretaries to current and former public officials found new jobs at the transit agency after voters backed a sales tax for transportation in 2002.

See profiles of the employees …

The proposed spending plan from the transit tax’s 2002 campaign called for widespread expansion of Metrorail to all corners of the county. Up to 88.9 miles were promised on eight lines. At this point, only one spur of 2.4 miles is likely to be built, and the county is struggling to win federal funds for two other lines.

See the proposed routes and status …

A trip in photographs through the Miami-Dade Transit system five years after Miami Dade county leaders promised to bring Miami-Dade Transit into the 21st Century once voters approved a long-sought sales tax in 2002.

Take a tour through Miami-Dade Transit...