Bicycle
Citi Bike is a bike-share program where you can borrow a bike from scores of kiosks spread around Miami and Miami Beach. Miami is flat, but traffic can be horrendous (abundant and fast-moving), and there isn’t much biking culture (or respect for bikers) just yet. Free paper maps of the bike network are available at some kiosks, or you can find one online. There’s also a handy iPhone app that shows you where the nearest stations are.
For longer rides, clunky Citi Bikes are not ideal (no helmet, no lock and only three gears).
Other rental outfits:
Bike & Roll Also does bike tours.
Brickell Bikes
Bus
Miami’s local bus system is called Metrobus and though it has an extensive route system, service can be pretty spotty. Each bus route has a different schedule and routes generally run from about 5:30am to 11pm, though some are 24 hours. Rides cost $2.25 and must be paid in exact change (coins or a combination of bills and coins) or with an Easy Card (available for purchase from Metrorail stations and some shops and pharmacies). An easy-to-read route map is available online. Note that if you have to transfer buses, you’ll have to pay the fare each time if paying in cash. With an Easy Card, transfers are free.
Miami Trolleys
A new free bus service has hit the streets of Miami, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Little Havana and Coral Gables, among other locations. The Trolley (www.miamigov.com/trolley) is actually a hybrid-electric bus disguised as an orange and green trolley. There are numerous routes, though they’re made for getting around neighborhoods and not between them.
The most useful for travelers are the following:
Biscayne Travels along Biscayne Blvd; handy for transport from Brickell to Downtown and up to the edge of Wynwood.
Brickell Connects Brickell area (south of the Miami River in the Downtown area) with the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens.
Coral Way Goes from Downtown (near the Freedom Tower) to downtown Coral Gables.
Wynwood Zigzags through town, from the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts up through Wynwood along NW 2nd Ave to 29th St.
Car & Motorcycle
If you drive around Miami, there are a few things to know. Miami Beach is linked to the mainland by four causeways built over Biscayne Bay. They are, from south to north: the MacArthur (the extension of US Hwy 41 and Hwy A1A); Venetian ($1.75 toll); Julia Tuttle and John F Kennedy. There’s also a $1.75 toll over the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne. The tolls are automated, so ask about hiring a Sunpass if you’re renting a vehicle.
Miami has an annoying convention of giving major roads multiple names. So for example, Bird Rd is also SW 40th St and Hwy 976. Hwy 826 is the Palmetto Expwy. US 1 is the Dixie Hwy – except in Downtown, when it becomes Biscayne Blvd. Hwy 836 is the Dolphin Expwy, while in Miami Beach 5th St becomes A1A. Calle Ocho is SW 8th St, as well as the Tamiami Trail, and US 41 (phew), and Hwy 959 is Red Rd, except when it’s SW 57th St. Somehow, this isn’t as confusing as it reads on paper – most signage indicates every name a route may have, but it can be frustrating to first-time Miami drivers.
Besides the causeways to Miami Beach, the major east–west roads are SW 8th St; Hwy 112 (also called Airport Expwy); and Hwy 836 (also called Dolphin Expwy), which slices through Downtown Miami and connects with I-395 and the MacArthur Causeway, and which runs west to the Palmetto Expwy and Florida’s Turnpike Extension.
Car Rental
You can find great deals on car rental in Miami, with rates starting as low as $20 per day. It’s useful to have a car if you want to do some exploring beyond South Beach and Downtown, particularly for visiting places like Coral Gables and North Miami Beach.
Most rental companies require that you have a major credit card, that you be at least 25 years old and that you have a valid driver’s license (your home license will do but an IDP is recommended). Some national companies may rent to drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 for an additional charge. Those under 21 are usually not permitted to rent at all.
Taxi
Taxi fares are $2.95 for the first 1/6 of a mile, then $0.85 for each addition 1/6 of a mile up to a mile. It’s then $0.40 each 1/6 of a mile thereafter. For a 20-minute trip (Lincoln Rd to Brickell City Center for instance), the fare is upwards of $30.
Given the high prices of taxis, and inconvenience of ordering them, most Miami residents use ride-sharing apps like Lyft and Uber.
Central Cabs
Flamingo Taxis
Metro
Miami Taxi Service
Sunshine
Yellow
Train
The Metromover, which is equal parts bus, monorail and train, is helpful for getting around Downtown Miami. It offers visitors a great perspective on the city and a free orientation tour of the area.
Metrorail is a 21-mile-long heavy-rail system that has one elevated line running from Hialeah through Downtown Miami and south to Kendall/Dadeland. Trains run every five to 15 minutes from 6am to midnight. The one-way fare is $2.25. Pay with either the reloadable Easy Card or single-use Easy Ticket, which are sold from vending machines at Metrorail stations.
