Miami-Dade finally reopened its transit-pass office, and the lines lasted hours

Douglas Hanks
·5 min read

Less than two weeks before transit fares return in Miami-Dade County, the office in charge of renewing free transit passes finally reopened Thursday after being closed more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 600 people showed up, overwhelming staff and prompting administrators to call in park employees to help process the overflow crowd and keep them hydrated with water jugs. That was before the power went out in that area of the Stephen P. Clark Center, delaying the process for more than an hour.

“I’ll stand in line as long as they want me to,” said Jerilene Plez, 70, who needed a replacement Golden Passport card for one she said was stolen from her house in the Opa-locka area. “I take the bus for everything. I don’t drive.”

A large group of Miami-Dade residents lined up outside the building to enter the Golden Passport office to renew free transit passes on the office’s first day open since the pandemic started. The renewal office reopened Thursday, May 20, 2021, with a three-hour wait at the Stephen P. Clark Center. The county has extended the deadline for renewing the cards until Sept 30, but many people aren’t aware of the extension.

By Friday, the county’s transit agency reported a much smoother process at the Golden Passport office. Transit administrators said they were stunned by Thursday’s turnout, in part because the county had already extended all renewal dates for transit passes to Sept. 30. In response to the deluge, on Friday the county announced an even later deadline and said all passes would be good until Dec. 30.

That includes all Golden Passport cards. While renewals aren’t needed for Golden Passport cards issued to people 65 and over, those who are under 65 and qualify for one through a disability or other special status do need yearly renewals. So do veterans who hold a county Patriot transit pass.

Can I renew my Golden Passport card in person?

People interviewed in line at the Clark Center Thursday said they were anxious after seeing the county’s ad campaign on buses and trains reminding passengers that fares return June 1. They hadn’t heard about the Sept. 30 deadline extension, and there were no promotional materials visible at the Clark Center informing them of the change.

“I’m tired,” Anthony Atkins, 55, said from his spot about 30 people from the front of the line in the Clark Center lobby. It took him about two hours to get there. He said a security guard let him know about the Sept. 30 deadline, but he opted to wait a little longer to get his extension done that day.

That plan proved overly optimistic when the Golden Passport office went dark, the victim of an isolated power outage in the county building. Computers were idle for more than two hours before workers installed a temporary line to reopen the office. By then, Atkins had left to catch the No. 77 bus back home to North Miami.

A large group of Miami-Dade residents lined up outside the building to enter the Golden Passport office to renew free transit passes on the office’s first day open since the pandemic started. The renewal office reopened Thursday, May 20, 2021, with a three-hour wait at the Stephen P. Clark Center. The county has extended the deadline for renewing the cards until Sept 30, but many people aren’t aware of the extension.

The county’s Golden Passport office had been closed since March of last year, when Miami-Dade suspended all fares to allow for COVID-19 measures, including avoiding contact with fare machines and boarding passengers in the rear, away from drivers.

When Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the June 1 return of fares in early April, transit opted not to immediately reopen the Golden Passport offices. Several people in line Thursday said they had tried to renew their cards earlier this year, only to find a darkened office.

“I came here two months ago,” said Kelsey Devoe, 62. “Because I was supposed to renew then.”

David Jones, a spokesperson for Miami-Dade Transportation and Public Works, said the office staff had switched their duties to processing renewals online, the only option available before Golden Passport centers reopened Thursday. “Offices were closed to protect staff and customers” during the pandemic, he said.

How do I get a Golden Passport card in Miami-Dade?

There are more than 230,000 free-transit cards issued in Miami-Dade. Most of them are the Golden Passport cards available to any resident after they turn 65.

Visiting in person isn’t required in most cases — the county offers an online portal for new Golden Passport cards and renewals.

But with demand high for in-person renewals, transit administrators expected another big crowd when the downtown office reopens Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are also neighborhood Golden Passport offices now open throughout Miami-Dade. Statistics show demand remained roughly the same: all of the offices processed 444 applications on Thursday and 504 on Friday, but without the long waits on the second day.

Roger Morejon, 39, said his friends had been urging him to renew his expired card as soon as possible so he didn’t have a problem taking the bus from Hialeah once fares came back.

He relies on federal disability payments for income, and needs free transit to get around. Told about the Sept. 30 deadline on Thursday, Morejon said he would stick with his place in line — at the moment on a folding chair outside the Clark Center, about 150 people in front of him.

“Whatever it takes,” he said. “I don’t give up.”