Miami-Dade Transit partnering with Uber, Lyft for late night essential ride options
The Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) for the city of Miami is suspending overnight Metrobus service on Miami-Dade Transit and has partnered with Uber and Lyft on a new Go Nightly on-demand ride option.
Metrobus service will end at midnight starting on April 10 and no overnight service will occur until further notice. To provide essential workers trips during this service suspension, Go Nightly has been established to operate between midnight and 5 a.m. starting on April 8.
DTPW says the decision to launch Go Nightly came following drastic ridership decline associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the department notes partnering with Uber and Lyft on the new program allows for essential service to continue.
Go Nightly service can be booked through the Uber or Lyft app or by phone and accommodations for wheelchair users can be made. Riders are good within a quarter mile of bus routes 3, 11, 27, 38, 77, 112/L, 119/S, 246 and 500. Miami-Dade Transit explains that while fares and late night service are suspended on its system, fares for rides with the Go Nightly program will also be suspended.
David Reich, head of Uber Transit, wrote in a March 30 blog that Uber Transit is prepared to help transit agencies impacted by COVID-19 to “utilize our technology and rideshare network to get people where they need to go.” Reich writes that Uber Transit can have customized programs up and running for transit clients in as little as 48 hours.
Lyft has also made its company resources available and recently launched the LyftUp Scooter Critical Workforce Program, which provides free scooter trips to frontline workers (healthcare, first-responder and transit) six U.S. cities.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
