HART Awarded $32 Million FTA Grant for CNG Buses

Historic News for HART!

We’re proud to announce that HART has been awarded $32 million through the FTA’s Low or No Emission and Bus & Bus Facilities Program — the largest federal grant in HART’s history, the largest in Florida, and one of the top awards in the entire nation this funding cycle.

This investment will allow us to:

• Replace 33 aging diesel buses averaging 688,000 miles — well beyond their useful life
• Reduce annual maintenance costs by over $1 million
• Improve reliability, on-time performance, and reduce service interruptions
• Cut harmful emissions across Hillsborough County
• Expand technician training and apprenticeship programs to strengthen our workforce

With this award, HART is now positioned to become Florida’s first transit agency with a 100% low-emission CNG fixed-route fleet — a major milestone in our Fleet Transition Plan and a big step toward cleaner, more reliable mobility for our community.

This isn’t just an investment in buses. It’s an investment in our riders, our employees, and the future of transportation in Hillsborough County.

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Statement from HART CEO Scott Drainville

“Today’s announcement represents a major step forward for reliable transit in Hillsborough County. This investment will help us improve service for riders, reduce costly breakdowns, strengthen our workforce pipeline, and continue transitioning our fleet to cleaner, low-emission technology. 

We are profoundly grateful to the more than two dozen partners who stood with us—elected leaders, community advocates, educational institutions, businesses, and industry. Their voices made clear that modern, reliable transit is essential to our region’s growth.”

Statement from Congresswoman Kathy Castor

“This grant is a big win for our Tampa Bay neighbors. Reliable, accessible transit is essential to a healthy local economy—helping people get to work, school, medical care, and the grocery store without added stress,” said Rep. Kathy Castor. “With these new investments to modernize HART’s fleet and expand mobility options, we’re opening the door to more job opportunities, supporting local businesses and ensuring families across Hillsborough County can move around safely and affordably. I’m proud to help secure these federal resources so every neighbor—regardless of zip code—has the freedom to move, connect and thrive in our community.”

Statement from Congresswoman Laurel Lee

“This federal investment is a significant step forward for transit in Hillsborough County. With the addition of 33 new CNG buses, HART will be able to improve reliability, lower operating costs, and better serve the riders who depend on these routes every day. I was proud to support HART’s application and am grateful to Secretary Duffy and Administrator Molinaro for prioritizing this project. These upgrades will make a real difference for families, workers, and students across our community.” 

Statement from HART Chair/Councilman Luis Viera


“This $32 million grant for HART is a huge leap forward thanks to our federal partners. HART provides such a pivotal lifeline for our working families – our seniors, those with disabilities, our veterans and so many others. I am so thankful for the work ethic, tenacity and determination of our Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who always champions transit. This grant allows us to move forward in a manner that is productive and is consistent with sustainability.”

HART Announces Future Departure of HART CEO Katharine Eagan

HART CEO Katharine Eagan is leaving HART

HART Chief Executive Officer Katharine Eagan will depart the agency after nearly eight years of service, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and a strong foundation for future growth.  

"Katharine Eagan has done an outstanding job running Hillsborough County's transit agency," said HART Board Chair and County Commissioner Lesley "Les" Miller. "We are deeply grateful for her leadership and proud of the many strides we made as an agency during her time as HART CEO. Eagan helped lead a new era for HART which is cutting edge, fiscally responsible, and customer focused. Efforts that have earned her the respect of many in the Tampa Bay community."

Eagan joined HART as its Chief of Service Development in 2009. During her tenure, from 2010 to 2015, ridership increased over 20% and farebox recovery increased over 25%. 

Since taking the helm as CEO, Eagan has worked with the HART Board of Directors to balance the Authority's budget, improve efficiencies, implement innovative transit solutions, and enhance the overall customer experience. HART has greatly expanded public-private partnerships with entities such as MegaBus, Red Coach, Coast Bike Share, Yellow Cab, and TransDev, and HART is continuing to pursue partnerships that provide travel options beyond traditional buses. 

In November 2016, HART partnered with Innovation Place and various sponsors to add four Tesla X model vehicles into the HART HyperLINK program. Donations from these sponsors paid for the entire cost of placing these all-electric vehicles into service in the University Area.  

Recently, HART selected Stantec/Coast Autonomous team to provide Autonomous Mobility Services for the Marion Street Transitway. The Autonomous Shuttle coming to the Marion Street Transitway in early 2018 is funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and will be the first implementation in the United States of a driverless transit vehicle on open public streets.    

"The agency's future is bright, its leadership is strong and HART is devoted to delivering best-in-class transit services that connect many communities throughout Hillsborough County," said Eagan. "What HART has been able to achieve in the last three and a half years has been a collective effort reflective of the dedication of the entire HART team."

With a long history of accomplishments and accolades, Ms. Eagan was awarded the Florida Diversity Council's 2016 Powerful and Influential Women award and WTS 2016 Woman of the Year by Women in Transportation Seminar. She was a finalist for the Tampa Bay Business Journals' Businesswoman of the Year award in 2014 and 2016 and the winner in 2016 in the Economic Development category.

Eagan will be taking on a transit leadership role at Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The HART Board will select an interim CEO at the December 4th meeting.

International Transit Driver Appreciation Day

HART Operators help thousands of riders get to work, school or elsewhere safely and on time every day. We make life happen for many residents of Hillsborough County. Celebrate their contributions on Transit Driver Appreciation Day, Wednesday, March 18, with HART and other transit providers across the country!

Driving may seem easy to some, but try doing it for eight hours or more in an extra-large vehicle while you pick up passengers, answer questions, keep on schedule, give directions and more. Then add unpredictable traffic, bad weather conditions and some tight spaces. HART operators handle all this and more every day while helping Hillsborough County residents get where they need to go.

"Our operators do a lot more than just drive buses, vans, and streetcar" said HART Chief Executive Officer Katharine Eagan. "Often they are expected to be all things at all times, trip planner, paramedic and more... all while safely driving a 40-foot bus."

It is a day to acknowledge how difficult driving a bus can be as HART and others salute the operators who have the skills and temperament to do it. This group of men and women are the agency's public ambassadors, representing HART day-in and day-out as they serve their routes.

Come join us at Marion Transit Center on March 18 at 9 a.m. as we hand out goodies and show our appreciation to our operators!

Background

International Transit Driver Appreciation Day began in 2009 when a group of transit riders in Seattle decided it would be a great way to honor the hard-working men and women who safely get us to job
s, stores, schools, etc.

December 2014 HART Board Meeting Highlights

Transparency was the word of the day at the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority Board of Directors meeting on Monday, December 1.

The main focus of the session was a presentation by Jeff Seward, Chief Financial Officer who provided an overview about this week's launching of the agency's online accountability center. HART will post a wealth of financial information on our website, including our budgets, individual financial transaction records, contracts information and historical data. Also, Seward asked the Board of Directors to approve the inclusion of the new HART transparency initiative into the agency's finance policy. 

HART is the lead on the regional fare collection project

During its regular monthly meeting, the HART Board approved all action items, including authorization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Hillsborough Transit Authority (HART) and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) for financial support for the regional fare collection project. 

In other matters, HART Board of Directors Chairman Councilman Mike Suarez welcomed the newest HART Board of Directors members, Ms. Kathleen Shanahan and Commissioner Stacy White. In addition, Councilman Suarez recognized several re-appointed Board members and thanked them for their valuable contributions and commitment during their tenure on the HART Board of Directors. 

Several employees were recognized for their outstanding service and 30 plus years of commitment working at HART.

         

In addition, HART Board General Counsel David Smith asked the HART Board of Directors for a motion to initiate the process of revising the following HART Board Policies.

•  120: General Organization of HART; Sub-section 120.02: Board of Directors
• 1000: Environmental Policy; Sub-section 1000.02: Policy

The HART Board unanimously approved to move forward with the process of revising the HART Board Policies. 

The draft revisions to the HART Board Policies will be presented to the Finance, Governance, and Administration Committee on December 15, 2014 for their review and advancement to the January 5, 2015 HART Board of Directors meeting for the Board's consideration. 

Next Regular Board of Directors Meetings 

The HART Regular Board of Directors will take place Monday, January 5, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. at the HART Ybor Office, 1201. E. 7th Ave., in Tampa.

 

Closed captioning from the monthly HART Board of Directors meetings will be posted within 5 - 8 business days on the Hillsborough Television (HTV) website.

Click here to view video recordings from recent HART Board/Committee meetings.

 

HART sees another record month in June!

The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority set yet another ridership record last month as early estimates indicate that the agency provided more than 1,194,379 trips in June. That's an increase of nearly 7 percent over June 2013.

The increase continues to be evident in our daily ridership; June 3 saw the greatest daily ridership throughout the month with 54,590 riders choosing HART! June continued the agency's trend of increasing ridership despite a difference in the balance of days within the month.

HART leaders say the continued gains in ridership are proof that Hillsborough County residents and visitors are eager to use public transit. "When more people use public transportation, everyone benefits," explained HART Interim Chief Executive Officer Katharine Eagan. "It's good for the environment, because there a fewer cars on the road. We're working hard to expand our rail service as much as possible within the budget we have available." 

Fast facts: 

• MetroRapid ridership was 50,796, or 2,419 per day
• Year-to-date (October 2013 - June 2014), bus ridership is up 1.6 percent; an increase of 179,908 trips, compared to the same period last year   
• Bus ridership for fiscal year 2014 is on its way to surpassing 14.6 million from last year. HART is on track for exceeding its annual target for ridership with approximately 14.9 million riders this year, which would be the 5th straight annual ridership record for HART

The price of the HART Summer Blast Pass has been slashed to $15! Kids ages 5 - 17 can use it for unlimited rides on HART through Aug. 31.

Don't know how to get started? Our online  Transit Map Trip Planner will plan out the route for you and tell you what bus to take to your destination.   

Thanks to the HART OneBusAway Tampa app, riders can easily find out when the next bus will arrive at their stop. The FREE application is available on a number of devices and platforms (Desktop computer, tablets, smartphones, Android, iPhone and mobile phones with browsers), which means less waiting at the stop and more time enjoying other things.

For all-things HART, including OneBusAway, trip planning, schedules, maps and fares, just visit www.goHART.org.