Print ads grab readers' attention with an eye-catching image of a gas pump with $20 bills spilling from the nozzle, alongside the catchy tagline: "Quit paying through the hose."

Radio ads feature a mock newscast that discusses rising fuel prices and the $3,000 annual savings of using transit. Ads also feature the slogan "It's easier than you think" to help overcome perceptions that public transportation isn't user-friendly.

Under the People's Transportation Plan (PTP), 20 percent of surtax receipts are distributed based on population to the County's cities and towns for roadway projects and local transit services. To date, municipalities have spent more than $60 million in surtax funds for circulator buses, bus shelters and various improvements to streets.

Hialeah, North Miami, North Miami Beach and Aventura are among the cities using surtax funds to operate local circulator buses. Like the trolley, the local circulators offer convenient access to transportation at the neighborhood level while providing connectivity to Metrobus and Metrorail. Meanwhile, the City of Miami is looking into introducing a modern version of its historic streetcars with a line that would run from downtown Miami to Northeast 79th Street. The streetcar could begin rolling down the street as early as 2007, with the half-penny tax providing part of the funding for the $130 million project.

The route is providing a crucial link to Metrorail for thousands of residents in the growing suburbs of southwest Broward and northwest Miami-Dade. They can then take Metrorail directly to downtown Miami, Brickell, the Civic Center/Jackson Memorial Hospital area and other major employment centers. The new service also lets commuters save on gas and parking and avoid the stress of driving on I-75 and the Palmetto Expressway.

"The Northwest Dade Express has been tremendously successful," Miami-Dade Transit Director Roosevelt Bradley said. "Passengers are flocking to the new service in large numbers."