January 11, 2022

Miami-Dade pays $50M for special transportation service. Riders say it’s unreliable

Miami Herald by Francisco Alvarado

Justin Aucoin relies on Miami-Dade County to get him to his college classes on time, and right now he’s giving public officials a failing grade.

The 19-year-old sophomore has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and isn’t able to drive to the northwest campus of Miami Dade College, where he studies criminal justice. When he needs to get to class, Aucoin relies on Transportation America, the company with a public contract of about $260 million for five years to provide rides to 38,479 people with disabilities across the county. But simply getting to class on time is a stress-inducing throw of the dice, Aucoin said. Transportation America has dropped him off well after the 9 a.m. start time to his three-day-a-week criminology course, he said, threatening his position in the class.