AND NOW......
                       THE LEGEND OF THE X
Metrorail began service on May 20, 1984. The MDTA (Which at that time stood for Metro - Dade Transportation Administration.) decided to do a massive revamping of it's Metrobus system so it would feed more folks onto the Rail. The overhauling of the bus routes was called Network '86 and was implemented on Sunday June 15, 1986. Many routes were rerouted, numbers changed, and some were eliminated. The routes that met their doom were the old 3,26,58,64,84,the letter O, the Coconut Grove, Westland Mall and West Dade Loops, and a small route that ran on the upper beach called the X. The massive changes angered and confused multitudes of Miami area bus riders. But the demise of the X enraged entire condominiums full of retirees that rode the bus from their beach homes to the Mall at 163rd Street to shop. These old folks didn't take it lying down They held protests and went to County Commission Meetings to voice their anger. I believe they even held a rally at County Hall and just raised a huge stink. The MDTA listened and on November 30 the route made it's return.
       The route ran from Surfside to the Mall along Sans Souci Boulevard, which turns into the Broad Causeway. I guess it then had to go up Biscayne to 163rd Street. The route survived for 3 years. Then, quietly, on November 26 1989, citing low ridership, the MDTA re-eliminated the route. The old stink went up in the air again, but no dice. The decision stuck....
            OR DID IT?????
         It stuck for 2 years. Then on December 8, 1991, the MDTA added three routes. The first two were Biscayne MAX and the 27th Avenue MAX, which began runing the next day. And the third? The good old X. Now in a longer form, beginning at Lincoln Road instead of Surfside. The bus  survived for a while, however it was evenutally eliminated for the second time, possibly in March 1993. Essentially it went out with the Storm of the Century, which hit on March 13. This time for good. Well, maybe. You never know!!!!