Early-morning service on three bus routes serving Coconut Grove has been spared, but late-night service and another Grove route remain slated for elimination next year.
Miami-Dade commissioners approved $12.5 million Thursday to preserve service before 6 a.m. on 45 Metrobus routes, including routes 22, 27 and 37 in Coconut Grove. The cuts had been proposed as part of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s budget.
Still on the chopping block are service after 10 p.m. on those three Grove routes and all service on Route 42, which connects the Douglas Road Metrorail station with Miami International Airport and the Opa-locka Tri-Rail station.
Those cuts are scheduled to take effect next July.
Commissioners approved the amended county budget in an 8-3 vote but postponed a decision on whether to restore the remaining bus service. Countywide, preserving late-night service on 41 routes and preventing the elimination of 12 routes would cost about $19 million.
Commissioners are considering several ways to cover that cost, including increasing Metrobus and Metrorail fares and charging passengers to ride the currently free Metromover.
The commission is expected to take up the remaining cuts again Oct. 6.
