In the TMA’s fifteen years of existence we have promoted the utilization of mass transit as a means to reduce traffic congestion, promote the development of a mixed-use, transit friendly downtown and worked to involve private sector leaders to understand the benefits of promoting and facilitating the use of mass transit for employees, visitors, and residents of Fort Lauderdale.

No other agency provides such a comprehensive approach to offering solutions to problems resulting from traffic congestion. In its brief history the TMA has obtained grants for the installation of 25 bus shelters, bike parking facilities, and has acted as the provider of local Community Bus Transit services within the City of Fort Lauderdale.

The TMA is an outlet for the distribution of BCT and Tri-Rail schedules, maps, and transit passes. The TMA offers discounts to employees of participating employers. A network of participating employers located in downtown Fort Lauderdale has been developed to help disseminate transit information and promote the benefits of public transportation. The TMA has been instrumental in obtaining Federal Transit monies to assist in the expansion of local transit services as well as to purchase vintage trolley style vehicles for the provision of these services.

The TMA also works cooperatively with South Florida Commuter Services, the regional rideshare program, and Vanpool Services International (VPSI) to develop customized rideshare and vanpool programs for employees who desire an alternative to driving a single occupant vehicle during the work commute into and out of Fort Lauderdale. With approximately 32,000 people employed within a one mile radius of downtown many employees seek alternatives to driving alone and/or to the cost of parking. In this effort the TMA also administers the carpool parking areas within the Broward County Governmental Center and the Broward County Judicial Complex south of the New River.

Since the year 2000 the TMA has shown its leadership in promoting the benefits of alternative fuels by using a 20% mix of bio-diesel fuel, a domestically produced, renewable energy source, in its delivery of Community Bus services within the City of Fort Lauderdale. The TMA is also the first Community Bus service within Broward County to include the County’s Living Wage Ordinance in its contract for the provision of local transit service. This helps ensure that our private transit operators receive appropriate levels of compensation.

Since the TMA is a 501(C) 3, non-profit organization it represents a unique and effective means of promoting the use of public transportation to people considered “choice” riders, i.e. people who own automobiles, yet who seek alternatives to the use of the auto for their commuting needs. No other organization has the ability to provide such a breadth of commuter services and local transit options as well as to bring private sector business leaders into the arena of public transportation, to promote it use, its benefits and perhaps it’s most important challenge – a means of funding the growing need for public transportation.