Frequently Asked Questions
PREMO or the Premium Mobility Plan is the development of a program of premium transit projects that ensure Broward's continued growth and prosperity, provide mobility options, and achieve the transit investment goals established by MAP Broward penny surtax for transportation.
Premium transit is an expression that describes a transit investment that is high-capacity and moves a larger number of riders. Premium transit moves riders farther distances, quickly, while attracting new riders because of increased comfort and convenience. Premium transit is often characterized as an investment that gives preferential treatment to transit in the form of exclusive or shared transit lanes that may also use technologies that provides transit a priority at signalized intersections. This may include transitways that are separate from automobile lanes, queue-jumps or bypass transit only lanes at intersections, or lanes shared with automobiles that are making a turn only.
Examples of premium transit opportunities are, but are not limited to, the following:
- Bus Rapid Transit
- Commuter Rail
- Heavy Rail
- Light Rail
- High Frequency Bus
PREMO follows a tiered technical evaluation process, with each tier addressing a single key question. The answer to each question facilitates the development of the PREMO Plan, serves County needs, and meets established goals. The figure below illustrates the PREMO process starting with the identification of a premium transit network (Step A) and resulting in a sequenced program of projects (Step F) for implementation.
Please refer to the documents section of the website for more information.
The inaugural PREMO or the Premium Mobility Plan is anticipated to be complete in 2023. As individual projects move forward, each will have its own timeline for completion.
At each step of the PREMO Plan development, the public has opportunities to receive updates and provide input. Input continues to be collected by survey, website, social media, and at meetings. There are also PREMO representatives at community events, taking input and conducting surveys.\
PREMO Plan updates will be posted on the website, communicated by way of fact sheets (to be widely distributed), videos, meetings, social media, and traditional media.
Please refer to the Public Input page of this website for more details, including locations and dates.
PREMO is designed to develop a program or “pipeline of premium transit projects in Broward County. Included within the plan will be the identification of premium transit investments that include Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), and high frequency bus over 30 years.
High-quality bus-based transit system that delivers fast and efficient service. A lower cost alternative to light rail. BRT is generally characterized by:
- Dedicated lanes and busways
- Traffic signal priority
- Off-board fare collection
- Elevated platforms
- Enhanced stations
A rail transit mode that typically is electric with a light volume traffic capacity compared to heavy rail. It is characterized by:
- Passenger rail cars operating singly (or in short, usually two car trains) on fixed rails in shared or exclusive right-of-way (ROW)
- Low or high platform loading
- Vehicle power drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley or a pantograph
An electric or diesel propelled railway for urban passenger train service which operates between a central city and outlying areas. Service operated on a regular basis by or under contract with a transit operator for the purpose of transporting passengers within urbanized areas (UZAs), or between urbanized areas and outlying areas. Commuter rail is generally characterized by:
- Multi-trip tickets
- Specific station-to-station fares
- Railroad employment practices
- Relatively long distance between stops
- 1-2 stations in the central business district
A transit mode that is an electric railway with the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic. It is characterized by:
- High speed and rapid acceleration passenger rail cars operating singly or in multi-car trains on fixed rail
- Sophisticated signalingH
- igh platform loading
- Separate rights-of-way (ROW) from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded
Bus service provided on a repetitive, fixed schedule basis along a specific route, characterized by:
- Vehicles stopping to pick up and deliver passengers to specific locations
- Each fixed route trip serves the same origins and destinations
- High frequency average headway of 15 minutes or less in a 24-hour period
There is a 30-year timeframe for the tax to be in effect which coincides with the County's 30-year project-based transportation plan. Once the tax expires, it can only be renewed by the voters of Broward County.
The first distribution of surtax revenues was received by Broward County from the Department of Revenue late March 2019.
Please refer to Broward.org/PennyForTransportation for more information.
The transportation surtax entered into effect on January 1, 2019. Therefore, revenues from FY2019, which covered the period of October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019, (i.e. only 9 full months of surtax revenue receipts) generated $282,631,200. FY2020, a year like no other in recent memory because of the COVID-19 impacts, saw a $62M decline over surtax revenue projections — from $361M to $299M.
Please refer to Broward.org/PennyForTransportation for more information.
Anybody who purchases taxable items or services within Broward County will pay the surtax. This includes residents, visitors and businesses.
Please refer to Broward.org/PennyForTransportation for more information.
All county and municipal projects funded by the transportation surtax are evaluated for eligibility by the Independent Transportation Surtax Oversight Board. After eligibility has been determined, the Oversight Board submits a list of eligible projects to the Board of County Commissioners for their budgetary approval.
Please refer to Broward.org/PennyForTransportation for more information.