Miami / Fort Lauderdale

Getting to the airport

Option	Cost / service	Notes
MIA Mover + Metrorail Orange Line	Mover free; rail $2.25	About 5 a.m. to midnight

Employee parking

Lot	Details
Employee parking	Enroll through MIA XPES enrollment. FY2026 rates (effective Oct 1, 2025): employee decal $30/month (Park 8 and the Employee Parking Lot); Flamingo/Dolphin garage encoded ID card $100/month (MIA Rates, Fees & Charges FY2026). The earlier free-garage announcement appears to be superseded; confirm with your employer.

Between MIA and FLL

This base covers two airports about 28 road miles apart. Crews based at one often live near, or commute through, the other. Here is how to get between them, and what works for a 0400 report.

Option	Time	Cost	Early / late
Tri-Rail Miami Airport ↔ FLL Airport station	39–43 min by train; about 1 h 15 min–1 h 30 min door to door Inference	$4 one way weekdays; $5 all-day weekends	First arrival: FLL 4:24 a.m., MIA 5:45 a.m. (weekdays). Last: 9:50 p.m. from MIA, 10:07 p.m. from FLL. Weekends hourly, later start, earlier end. No 0400 reports.
Brightline Downtown Miami ↔ downtown Fort Lauderdale	About 33 min by train, plus a shuttle at each end	SMART about $18–26 (third-party data); shuttle $12 + $3 fuel	First train 5:45 a.m. (third-party data); airport shuttles 8 a.m.–7 p.m. only. No early reports.
Drive I-95 or Florida's Turnpike (toll)	About 28.5 mi; about 46 min with no traffic (model); rush hour not verified Unverified	Fuel, tolls, employee parking	Any hour. The realistic 0400 option.
Rideshare	Door to door	No reliable published range Unverified	Any hour, subject to availability
Bus	No single-seat route confirmed	Varies	Not researched Unverified

Getting to the trains

Tri-Rail at MIA: take the free MIA Mover from the terminal (3rd level, between the Dolphin and Flamingo garages) to the Miami Intermodal Center (Miami Airport station). Metrobus routes 7A, 20, 36A, 37, 56, 150, and 338 also stop there.
Tri-Rail at FLL: the free Tri-Rail shuttle bus links the FLL Airport station (Dania Beach) with Terminals 1–4 about every 15–20 min during train hours. Broward County Transit routes 4, 6, 15, and 16 also serve the station.
Tri-Rail fares: Miami Airport and FLL Airport are in adjacent zones, so a trip is 2 zones: $4 one way on weekdays from Oct 1, 2026, or the $5 all-day weekend/holiday pass. Weekend first trains: 4:52 a.m. from MIA, 6:33 a.m. from FLL. Weekend last trains: 8:52 p.m. from MIA, 9:33 p.m. from FLL.
Brightline: MiamiCentral is about 8 miles from MIA and the Fort Lauderdale station about 5 miles from FLL. Airport connector shuttles need a same-day train ticket. At MIA they currently stop at Level 2 Departures (Concourse D Door 6, E Door 11, H Door 22); at FLL, at Terminal 1 Zone B, Terminals 2–3 Zone F, and Terminal 4. A $15 SMART weekend offer runs through Nov 1, 2026.

Sources: Tri-Rail weekday schedule · Tri-Rail weekend schedule · Tri-Rail tariff policy (eff. Oct 1, 2026) · Tri-Rail FLL Airport station · Tri-Rail Miami Airport station · MIA public transportation · Brightline airport shuttles · Brightline Fort Lauderdale station · Brightline MiamiCentral station · Brightline Help Center · Brightline SoFlo weekend offer · Rome2rio timetable (third-party) · OSRM routing (free-flow estimate). Checked Oct 17, 2026; schedules change.

Employee parking at each airport

Airport	Employee parking
MIA	Enroll via MIA XPES enrollment. Employee decal $30/month (Park 8 and Employee Parking Lot); Flamingo/Dolphin garage ID card $100/month (MIA Rates, Fees & Charges FY2026). Shuttle hours for the remote lots: not verified Unverified.
FLL	Employee Lots 1 and 2 at 2755 SW 42nd St. Dedicated employee shuttle runs 24/7, about every 5–10 min, roughly 20 min to the terminal stops (Terminals 1–2 and 3–4). A permit/decal is required; monthly cost not published (FLL employee parking (Broward County), via search summary, since the page blocked direct fetch; verify).

Tips

0400 report? No train gets you there. The first weekday Tri-Rail reaches the FLL Airport station at 4:24 a.m. and Miami Airport at 5:45 a.m. Brightline's first train is 5:45 a.m. and its airport shuttles start at 8 a.m. Plan on driving, a rideshare, or a crashpad near your own airport.
Using Tri-Rail for a later report: Tri-Rail asks riders to be at the station 20 minutes early, and trains won't wait. Add the FLL shuttle (every 15–20 min) or the MIA Mover on top of the 39–43 min ride.
Getting home late: on weekdays the last train leaves Miami Airport at 9:50 p.m. and the FLL station at 10:07 p.m. On weekends it's 8:52 p.m. from MIA and 9:33 p.m. from FLL. Late arrivals need a car or a rideshare.
Weekend days: Tri-Rail's $5 all-day pass beats the weekday fare for a round trip.

Living between MIA and FLL

Crews based at one airport often live near, or commute through, the other. The areas between them are an obvious compromise Inference:

Dania Beach and Hollywood sit next to FLL. Tri-Rail's Sheridan Street and Hollywood stations are in the same fare zone as the FLL Airport station, about 8 minutes down the line from it (Tri-Rail tariff policy (eff. Oct 1, 2026), Tri-Rail weekday schedule). Workable for FLL, and for MIA reports after the first train Inference.
Hallandale Beach and Aventura are roughly midway. Brightline has an Aventura station (Brightline SoFlo weekend offer), but early reports still mean driving Inference.
MIA-based crews: our earlier research lists Miami Springs, Doral, and Hialeah as crashpad areas Unverified.
Pick for your earliest report, not the average one. Without a car, a 0400 report means sleeping near your own airport Inference.

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