Miami-Dade’s bus fleet set to end a COVID-19 precaution. Fares still free — for now

After 11 months of COVID-19 disruption, Miami-Dade buses on Monday will resume boarding passengers from the front.

The Transportation Department halted front boarding in March, at the start of the coronavirus crisis. It was an emergency measure to separate passengers from drivers at a time when the county was rationing masks and limiting bus drivers to a single Clorox wipe per shift.

Fares, collected by bus operators at the front, were suspended throughout the transit system as well.

With new protective gear installed on buses, Miami-Dade plans to resume front-door boarding on Feb. 15, the Transportation Department announced Friday. The county also is preparing to resume fares on buses and Metrorail, with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava holding a town hall on the subject last month. No date has been announced for resuming fares.

Miami-Dade received more than $200 million in federal transit aid as part of Washington’s COVID-19 response, more than covering the lost fare revenue in a system that typically collects about $80 million a year from passengers.

No date has been announced for the resumption of fares for Miami-Dade transit.

This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 8:00 PM.