Public transportation takes cars (and their pollution) off the road!
The ultimate green initiative is public transportation!
Consider yourself environmentally conscious? Have energy-efficient
light bulbs, low-flow shower-heads, and recycle bins in your house, but
then drive a gas guzzler to work? There is still work to be done! Use Earth Day as a chance to give the ultimate green initiative a try - public transportation! You just might find out how easy it is to go on a car-free diet.
According to APTA, public transportation reduces energy consumption to the tune of 4.2 billion gallons of gas a year, or the equivalent to 320 million cars filling up - 900,000 times a day.
A household's biggest carbon footprint contributor is their car. One
person switching their 20-mile commute to public transportation can also
reduce their carbon footprint by 4,800 pounds of CO2 annually. CO2, or carbon dioxide emissions have been linked to global climate change known as "global warming".
Ride Free with a Friend
Ride HART FREE with a Friend on Earth Day!
Still not convinced? How about a FREE ride on HART for Earth Day? Grab a friend, make a day out of it, and try HART. We are providing FREE rides for those riding with a friend on Saturday, April 22, in celebration of Earth Day.
We feel that you'll be
pleasantly surprised at how affordable, clean, convenient, and awesome
it is to get around with HART.
The cherry on top? There's a good chance that you'll be riding in a clean-burning, American-sourced,
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus or van, as HART is currently
transitioning our fleet away from dirty diesel.
Try transit! Your planet (and wallet) will thank you!
There has been no shortage of transit studies in the Tampa
Bay area in recent years. In fact, over the past 30 years, more than 55 plans
and studies for transit have been conducted by Tampa Bay area agencies.
But the question remains: How can we turn planning into
projects? Answering this question is the goal of the Regional Transit Feasibility
Plan.
Creation of the plan started in November 2016, with a review
of those 55 previous plans. After that work is complete, the process will move
into creating a plan for a regional transit network, culminating in
recommendations for improvements that address needs in the community and have a
solid chance of getting funding.
The ultimate goal: identify the top transit corridors in the
Tampa Bay region, while determining one “catalyst project” that would be
eligible for federal funding and could be implemented first.
The plan is being funded by the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) and is being administered by the Hillsborough Area
Regional Transit Authority (HART).
“Our mission is to create a ‘route map’ to implementation,”
said Katharine Eagan, Chief Executive Officer of HART, the agency administering
the plan. “The result, we hope, will be a catalyst project that’s the first of
many projects that will be competitive for federal funding, forward thinking,
and makes the best use of today’s technology.”
The Tampa Bay region is defined for this plan as the
urbanized areas of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
The Regional Transit Feasibility Plan will be conducted in
two phases. The first phase consists of a year of technical analysis to identify
the most competitive projects. During the first year, the milestones will
include identifying the most promising corridors for transit, then identifying
what type of transit mode can best serve those corridors, and finally,
determining which projects could potentially be implemented first.
How did we get here?
The starting point for the Regional Transit Feasibility Plan
is the adopted county and regional Long Range Transportation Plans and the more
than 50 plans and studies completed by Tampa Bay area agencies over the past
30-plus years. The step-by-step process will then determine which projects are
the most competitive for implementation.
During phase one, public involvement will be heavily focused
on digital communication (website, online surveys, social media, and e-communication)
but will also offer many in-person opportunities to get engaged (community
workshops, small group meetings, and a stakeholder working group).
Phase two will involve vetting and refining plans for those
specific projects to make sure the catalyst project selected is the best
project for the region and is supported by the community. During phase two, a
wide range of communication tools will be utilized, including public meetings,
workshops, special events, the website, social media, town halls, and regional
transit forums.
“The simplest way to describe what it takes to build a
premium transit project is by answering the following three questions: What is
the project? How is it funded? And who is responsible for building and
maintaining it?” Eagan said. “During this plan, we will be addressing the first
question and identifying possible next steps so the region can move forward
with answering questions two and three.”
To learn more about the Regional Transit Feasibility Plan,
and to participate in our transit preference survey, visit the project website
at www.tbregionaltransit.com.
