HART Regular Meeting - February 2014 Recap

At Monday's meeting of the HART Board of Directors, HART Chief Executive Officer Philip R. Hale announced that he will retire effective May 2, explaining that he is retiring for family reasons. He offered his full assistance during the transition, and added "I'm incredibly proud of our accomplishments over the past three years and grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the people of Hillsborough County. During my tenure, HART has responded to many challenges, while always keeping in mind the best interests of our residents, businesses and all those who depend upon HART services. So, it is with a sense of fulfillment and some regret that I step away from the duties at HART to focus more on my family."

HART Board Members expressed their deep appreciation for Mr. Hale's hard work and dedication. During his tenure HART experienced some of its greatest growth and achieved historic accomplishments. Those included the launch of the first MetroRapid service in the state of Florida, high-tech innovations like the OneBusAway Tampa app, and an environmental step forward with the groundbreaking measure to transition vehicles to more eco-friendly Compressed Natural Gas.          

HART's first Compressed Natural Gas van recently arrived

In other matters, the HART Board of Directors approved several action items at its regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 3, including authorization to purchase 22 40-foot Gillig Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered heavy-duty transit buses, and approval to purchase one MV-1 paratransit van with mobility ramp.

During the meeting, Alvin Burns, HART Sr. Manager of Procurement and Contracts Administration, provided the Board an overview presentation of the legal services and solicitation process. The objective was to make the Board of Directors aware of the need to procure legal services for the upcoming expiring contracts in May 2014: General Litigation and Personal Injury and Worker's Compensation, and Labor and Employment. Mr. Burns discussed the various available procurement options in the solicitation process.   

The Board of Directors also received a detailed look at the authority's Fare Policy and Discounted Passes. Jeff Seward, HART Chief Financial Officer, gave a presentation on how HART staff has started to review the HART "Fare Structure and Fare Change Policy" and have identified further changes that the staff will recommend to the Board in its fare policy, along with regional fare structure. 

Next Regular Board of Directors Meetings

The HART Regular Board of Directors will take place Monday, March 3 at 9:00 a.m. at the HART Ybor Office, 1201. E. 7th Ave., in Tampa.

MetroRapid North-South Service Delivers for HART!



Photo source: TBO.com

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) MetroRapid North-South (N-S) service turned the wheel on its first 7 months of operation on December 10, 2013. The innovative limited stop service has increased ridership, offering customers a more convenient, more flexible ride and has ushered in a new era of public transit choices. 

"MetroRapid N-S service has been even more successful than we originally anticipated and has become a valued service to the community," said HART Chief Executive Officer Philip Hale. "In just 7 months of operation, we've seen MetroRapid N-S increase 22.7 percent from June to December based on average daily ridership."
The MetroRapid N-S service route, the first of its kind in Hillsborough County, was officially launched on June 10, 2013. This limited stop service features cutting-edge technology including Transit Signal Priority (TSP) system, 16 Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs) at major connection points along the corridor. MetroRapid N-S offers faster travel and enhancements for a new rider experience.  

The mix of new vehicles, stations and technologies have made MetroRapid the premium way to travel. Transit Ridership on MetroRapid has nearly doubled - averaging 2,288 daily riders in December in just its seventh month of operation. The agency's MetroRapid N-S service has heightened awareness of public transit benefits and opened the door to future plans for additional MetroRapid routes. 

On the travel side, customers may experience up to a 15 percent time savings over local service. This time savings can be attributed to the implementation of the high-tech Transit Signal Priority (TSP) system that advances buses throughout the corridor. It works by holding traffic lights green a little longer when a bus is running behind schedule and shortening red lights. 

Construction on the northward expansion of the Marion Transit Center is running smoothly. The project includes two new bus shelters, extra bicycle storage, and a pick-up and drop-off area for taxis, paratransit vans and private vehicles. A canopy will be elevated to connect MTC to the new intermodal site which is scheduled to open in April. 

For more information about MetroRapid, visit www.goHART.org/MetroRapid

HART Ridership Topped 1.2 Million in December!

The number of people riding HART in December outdid last year's record by 7 percent, with 1,204,729 riders compared to 1,126,360 riders in December 2012. The increase continues to be visible in our daily ridership December 3 saw the greatest daily ridership throughout the month with 56,659 riders choosing HART!

With the introduction of MetroRapid and providing transportation services to more than 14.6 million Hillsborough County residents - 2013 was a critical year for HART. This total represents the fourth straight year of record ridership for the authority, and 9 of the past 10 years.

Fast facts: 

• December 2013 ridership marked 78,369 more trips than the same month last year.
• 9 weekdays in December exceeded 50,000 daily riders.
• MetroRapid ridership in December was 45,769.
• Year-to-date (October 2013 - December 2013), bus ridership is up 2.4 percent; an increase of 89,239 trips, compared to the same period last year.
• Monthly bus ridership has been on the rise for 8 consecutive months. 

"When more people use public transportation, everybody benefits," said HART Chief Executive Officer Philip Hale. "Increased ridership and greater demand is wonderful news and affirms our value to the community."

In addition, Almost 230,000 trips from University of South Florida students, faculty and staff have been taken on HART services since July. In December the use of the HART U-Pass service for USF students, faculty and staff increased 23 percent compared to last year. The U-Pass program is a partnership with the university that allows students to ride any HART local bus for free with a valid student ID; faculty and staff ride for 25¢.

Tampa Receives Federal Grant for Transit Employment Training

This week, Tampa was awarded $234,281 from the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Innovative Transit Workforce Development Program to implement "Meeting Today's and Tomorrow's Job Needs in Mass Transit," a recruitment and training partnership between the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa, Inc. (CDC of Tampa) and HART. This project will recruit, train and employ up to 30 people in the transit industry, including transit operations and maintenance workers. The CDC will partner with HART "We are excited about the partnership which will help solve a skills training void in the community," stated Ernest Coney Jr., CEO of the CDC of Tampa.  "The partnership will result in livable wage jobs and career paths that will continue to transform Tampa/ Hillsborough into a vibrant and strong community." The CDC of Tampa is the direct recipient of the grant, and is one of 17 organizations in 12 states to share $7 million from the FTA Innovative Transit Workforce Development Program. The purpose of the grant is to help local public transit agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations and Native American tribes train a future generation of transit professionals, with particular emphasis on promoting training opportunities in emerging technologies and encouraging young people to pursue careers in public transportation. "HART will soon begin using new technologies and advanced practices -- such as transit signal priority and compressed natural gas vehicles -- to keep our local public transit system modern and environmentally sustainable," HART CEO Philip Hale said. "This federal grant will fund a partnership project between HART and the CDC of Tampa that will provide the type of advanced training needed to develop highly qualified candidates to serve the future of public transit." Training for jobs such as mechanics will be provided The CDC of Tampa will provide enrolled candidates with certification-based transit training, job placement services and case management services. HART will work with the CDC of Tampa in developing benchmark standards for training; provide access to training staff and facilities; and assist with the CDC of Tampa's training compliance standard.