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ORDINANCE RELATING TO MUNICIPAL CIRCULATORS, THE PEOPLE�S TRANSPORTATION PLAN, AND CHARTER COUNTY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SURTAX FUNDS; AMENDING SECTION 31-102 OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA; AMENDING SECTION 29-124 OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, BY A TWO-THIRDS VOTE OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP; REQUIRING MUNICIPALITIES TO PROVIDE CERTAIN CIRCULATOR ROUTE AND ON-DEMAND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES INFORMATION FOR INTEGRATION INTO THE COUNTY�S TRANSIT TRACKER APPLICATION AND TRANSIT RIDERSHIP INFORMATION TO THE COUNTY; REVISING THE REQUIREMENT OF MUNICIPAL TRANSIT RIDERSHIP DATA REPORTS; DIRECTING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR�S DESIGNEE TO INCLUDE IN ANY NEW CONTRACT FOR COUNTY ON-DEMAND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, OR IN ANY AMENDMENT TO AN EXISTING CONTRACT, A PROVISION REQUIRING THAT THE VENDOR PROVIDE TO THE COUNTY THE ON-DEMAND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES INFORMATION IN A CERTAIN FORMAT FOR INTEGRATION INTO THE COUNTY�S TRANSIT TRACKER APPLICATION; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN AND EXCLUSION FROM THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE

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WHEREAS, many municipalities in the County are providing circulator service within their municipal boundaries through an interlocal agreement with the County, pursuant to section 31-102 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida (the �Code�); and
WHEREAS, said services have proven popular with the residents of and visitors to the County; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with section 212.055, Florida Statutes, and section 29-124 of the Code, certain municipalities are also providing on-demand transportation services funded with the municipal share of Charter County Transportation System surtax proceeds; and
WHEREAS, the Code requires that municipalities provide the County with certain reporting and route information for municipal circulator service and on-demand transit service; and
WHEREAS, the County has a smartphone transit tracker application that allows transit patrons to, among other things, find information regarding Metrobus routes and current time of arrival for Metrorail, Metromover, and Metrobus; and
WHEREAS, integrating the municipal circulator and on-demand transit service information as part of the County transit application would provide for better mobility options and help the County and municipal transit services serve as one complementary system; and
WHEREAS, General Transit Feed Specification (�GTFS�) is used to distribute relevant information about transit systems to riders and allows public transit agencies to publish their transit data in a format that can be consumed by a wide variety of software applications; and
WHEREAS, General On-Demand Format Specification, also known as GOFS-lite, is a format for purely on-demand transport services to provide information about their offering; and
WHEREAS, requiring that municipalities provide the County with their data in these formats would enable the sharing of service data, including service zones, availability, fare, and operating hours, which can be used in the County�s smartphone transit tracker application and other popular applications; and
WHEREAS, this would ensure seamless integration and accessibility of on-demand transit service information for the County and its residents, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the transit system; and
WHEREAS, while the Code currently requires municipalities to provide the County with circulator route information in a format that can be integrated into the County transit tracker application, given the advances in technology, certain revisions to the Code would provide greater guidance to municipalities to ensure that the municipal circulator and on-demand transit service information is seamlessly integrated into the County�s transit information system,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA:
Section 1. Section 31-102 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:1
Sec. 31-102. Definitions.

For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply:

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(f) Circulator service means the provision of fixed route or semi-fixed route transportation service where at least 70 percent of the route is within 1 municipality. Motor vehicles owned, operated by or operated under contract with a municipality in a local public transportation system may provide circulator service when authorized by an interlocal agreement with Miami-Dade County which has been approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The interlocal agreement and any certificate of transportation, chauffeur's registration and permit issued to provide circulator service pursuant to an interlocal agreement shall require, among other things, that the municipality, operator, vehicles and chauffeurs comply with safety, mechanical and vehicular standards mandated by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, and any applicable state or federal requirements. Additionally, for any new interlocal agreement or any amendment to an existing interlocal agreement, the agreement must >>, as applicable<<:

(1) include a provision requiring that the municipality provide to the County the municipality�s >>schedule<< [[real time]] >>real-time<< circulator service route information >>for fixed-route services using both the General Transit Feed Specification (hereinafter �GTFS�) and GTFS-real-time or another<< [[in a]] format approved by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, or its successor department, such as provided using a Global Positioning System [[and recognized Application Programming Interface]], and which is compatible with, and may be integrated into, the County's smartphone transit tracker application and common third party applications[[,]]>>;<<

>>(2) include a provision requiring that the municipality provide to the County the municipality�s semi-fixed route information using GTFS-flex, the General On-Demand Format Specification (hereinafter �GOFS�), GOFS-lite or another format approved by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, or its successor department, which will allow the publishing of service offering data, such as but not limited to, service zones, fare and operating hours, which is compatible with, and may be integrated into, the County�s smartphone transit tracker application and common third party applications; and<<

[[(2) must]] >>(3)<< include a provision requiring municipalities to provide to the County [[on a quarterly basis]] >>on a monthly basis starting on January 1, 2025,<< municipal daily transit ridership data for both circulator and on-demand >>transit<< services >>according to service standards established or provided by the County to facilitate data aggregation, access to the data, and use of the data to inform future mobility plans in the County,<< and a description of any area within the municipal boundaries not being serviced by the municipal transit services. Said data shall be due to the County within 15 days from the end of the corresponding quarter.

Within 30 days of receipt of the information from a municipality, the County Mayor or County Mayor's designee shall place a report showing the municipal transit service ridership information, in addition to County transit ridership information for the corresponding quarter, on an agenda of the Board of County Commissioners pursuant to Ordinance No. 14-65. Where a municipality intends to provide circulator service pursuant to a contract with a third party, said municipality shall give Miami-Dade County the opportunity to submit a bid or proposal to provide that transportation service.

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Section 2. Section 29-124 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 29-124. Special fund created; uses of surtax proceeds; and role of Citizens' Independent Transportation Trust.

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(h) Twenty percent of surtax proceeds shall be distributed annually to those cities existing as of November 5, 2002 that meet the following conditions:

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(ii) That apply 20 percent of any surtax proceeds received to transit uses in the nature of circulator buses, bus shelters, bus pullout bays, on-demand transportation services as defined in [[Section]] >>section<< 212.055(1)(e), Florida Statutes, as may be amended from time to time, or other transit-related infrastructure. The use of surtax proceeds for on-demand transportation services must be authorized by an interlocal agreement with the County which has been approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The interlocal agreement shall require, among other things, that the city, operator, vehicles and chauffeurs comply with applicable safety, mechanical and vehicular standards required by the County, and any applicable state or federal requirements, and shall detail the implementation plan and fare structure for the on-demand >>transportation<< services. >>Additionally, for any new interlocal agreement or any amendment to an existing interlocal agreement, the agreement must include a provision requiring that the municipality provide to the County the municipality�s on-demand transportation services information using General Transit Feed Specification-flex, the General On-Demand Format Specification (hereinafter �GOFS�), GOFS-lite or another format approved by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, or its successor department, which will allow the publishing of service offering data, such as but not limited to, service zones and operating hours, which is compatible with, and may be integrated into, the County�s smartphone transit tracker application and common third party applications.<< The use of surtax proceeds for on-demand transportation services shall be limited to providing transportation services where the trip is no greater than 5 miles in distance. Each city that uses surtax proceeds for on-demand transportation services shall provide an annual report to the County describing the city�s implementation of the on-demand transportation services. Any city that cannot apply the 20 percent portion of surtax proceeds it receives as provided in this paragraph, may contract with the County for the County to apply such proceeds on a County project that enhances traffic mobility within that city and immediately adjacent areas. If the city cannot expend such proceeds in accordance with this paragraph and does not contract with the County as described in this paragraph, then such proceeds shall carry over and be added to the overall portion of surtax proceeds to be distributed to the cities in the ensuing year and shall be utilized solely for the transit uses enumerated in this subsection (ii);

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Section 3. This Board directs the County Mayor or County Mayor�s designee to include in any new contract for County on-demand transportation services, or in any amendment to an existing contract for County on-demand transportation services, a provision requiring that the vendor provide to the County the on-demand transportation services information using General Transit Feed Specification-flex, the General On-Demand Format Specification (hereinafter �GOFS�), GOFS-lite or another format approved by the Department of Transportation and Public Works, or its successor department, which will allow the publishing of service offering data, such as but not limited to, service zones and operating hours, which is compatible with, and may be integrated into, the County�s smartphone transit tracker application and common third party applications.
Section 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected by such invalidity.
Section 5. It is the intention of the Board of County Commissioners, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, and that the remaining sections of this ordinance shall not be made a part of the Code. The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section," "article," or other appropriate word.
Section 6. This ordinance shall become effective ten (10) days after the date of enactment unless vetoed by the Mayor, and if vetoed, shall become effective only upon an override by this Board.
Section 7. The provisions of section 2 of this ordinance may only be amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of the Board of County Commissioners. Any amendment or repeal of the provisions of section 2 of this ordinance shall further require a minimum of six weeks between first and second reading.


1 Words stricken through and/or [[double bracketed]] shall be deleted. Words underscored and/or >>double arrowed<< constitute the amendment proposed. Remaining provisions are now in effect and remain unchanged.