Tri-Rail hunts for ADA-compliant Miami partner

David Dech, director of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA), is “actively seeking” a Miami-Dade vendor with ADA-accessible vehicles to round out his first-mile/last-mile Tri-Rail accommodations in the county, he told Miami Today this week.

Tri-Rail already has found vendors in Broward and Palm Beach counties that can serve the disabled, the Tri-Rail chief said, but Miami-Dade has been a harder nut to crack. The concept of first-mile/last-mile is the distance commuters travel to get to a train, and the distance they have to travel after arriving at their destination station.

Toward the bottom of the SFRTA website, tri-rail.com, is a “Ride Partner Service” link offering discount vouchers to and from the nearest Tri-Rail station in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Mr. Dech said he expects to add Miami-Dade in the near future.

Tri-Rail provides a $5 discount on Uber rides to and from the nearest Tri-Rail Station in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Vouchers are available seven days per week during train operating hours for up to two trips per day.

The same $5 discount voucher is available with taxis in both counties, with Metro Taxi in Palm Beach and Yellow Cab in Broward County. Passengers must specify a Tri-Rail connection to receive the two-way $5 discount voucher. Wheelchair accessible vehicles are available.

Uber rides between the West Palm Beach Tri-Rail Station and the Palm Beach International Airport receive a $15 discount through a separate voucher. Passengers must have an active Uber account to receive the discount voucher.

As Tri-Rail’s voucher system expands, also available at the Fort Lauderdale Cypress Creek Station is Freebee’s on-demand “electric microtransit” service. Through June 2024, the service is free under a one-year demonstration grant from the Florida Department of Transportation.

Before Mr. Dech took the throttle at Tri-Rail, the voucher service was only available at six stations. Now it’s available at all Broward and Palm Beach county Tri-Rail stations and Mr. Dech has Miami-Dade County squarely in his sights.

Finding vendors offering transit for the disabled has been the sticking point in Miami-Dade. Tri-Rail also is considering starting a scooter service in the county, but “We have to be able to provide ADA accessible vehicles,” Mr. Dech insisted.

Achieving that goal has been a struggle for Mr. Dech, who completed his first year as SFRTA director Aug. 15.

Clearly concerned, he told Miami Today that “Every day I think I’m close and every day it doesn’t happen. I think I’m close, but I just can’t put a pin in it yet.

“We recognize that getting to and from the train is a big obstacle,” Mr. Dech said.

Starting a scooter service is fraught with issues. They were, for example, positioned in Fort Lauderdale but suspended during the covid pandemic.

“Scooters were introduced in Austin (Texas, Mr. Dech’s last position) and it was like the Wild West,” he said.

”But there are ways to deal with scooters responsibly,” he added. “You can geofence their locations and you can manage their speed.

‘But I don’t anticipate putting scooters out there anytime soon.”

Right now, “we are open to working with any partner who is willing and able to work with us.”