LTC 467-2025 Discontinuation of Mount Sinai LinkMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC #467-2025
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
LETTER TO COMMISSION
Honorable Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Eric Carpenter, City Manager � {1-;z�
November 7, 2025
Discontinuation of Mount Sinai Link
The purpose of this Letter to Commission ("L TC") is to is to inform the Mayor and City Commission
("City Commission") that Miami-Dade County ("County") Department of Transportation and Public
Works ("DTPW") two-year funding commitment for the Mount Sinai Link will expire on November
13, 2025, and the service will be discontinued starting November 14, 2025.
As part of the Better Bus Network, DTPW discontinued Route 115 due to historically low ridership.
Route 115 connected North Beach to South Beach, serving Mount Sinai Medical Center, primarily
along the Alton Road corridor. To help mitigate the impact of DTPW's discontinuation of Route 115
and provide a suitable public transit option to the affected customers in North Beach, the City's
Transportation and Mobility Department staff worked with DTPW staff on a plan to augment the
City's on-demand transit service operated by Freebee to primarily serve the No rth Beach portion
of Route 115 as well as Mount Sinai Medical Center as an on-demand service. DTPW's funding
provided for one (1) additional Freebee vehicle, bringing the total to three (3) vehicles in service.
However, due to high demand during morning and afternoon commuter hours, one (1) small
capacity vehicle was not sufficient to accommodate all trip requests, with average passenger wait
times sometimes exceeding 80 minutes.
To address this issue, the City proposed the implementation of a fixed route/fixed schedule service
to provide a more reliable and consistent connection between North Beach and Mount Sinai
Medical Center. As such, on October 1, 2024, the City implemented the Mount Sinai Link, a fixed
route/fixed schedule service operated by Limousines of South Florida ("LSF") using a 20-
passenger Starcraft van. To support this new service model, the City requested additional funding
from DTPW. The County funded the full annual operating cost of approximately $245,000 annually
through an Intergovernmental Agency Agreeme nt ("IAA"), covering the two (2) year period ending
in November 2025.
Recent data indicates that the Mount Sinai Link serves approximately 50 passengers per day. In
addition, the Freebee on-demand service between North Beach and Mount Sinai averages about
45 passengers per day, with roughly 75% of all trips occurring from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 3
p.m. to 6 p.m. Combined, the two (2) services carry around 100 passengers daily, which is
consistent with the ridership levels of the previous Route 115.
Due to budget constraints, the City cannot continue operating the Mount Sinai Link after November
13, 2025. However, the City Administration is working with the County to explore potential cost
sharing arrangements and possible modifications to current service levels, such as reducing hours
of operation to four ( 4) hours in the morning and four ( 4) hours in the afternoon to focus on
commuter demand, as data shows that the majority of rides occur within those time periods.
If you have any questions regarding the foregoing, please do not hesitate to contact Jose R.
Gonzalez, P.E., Transportation and Mobility Director at JoseGonzalez@miamibeachfl.gov.
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