All Aboard the Winter Village Express!

Winter Village Express operates Sundays through Dec. 22!

The holiday season is so close, we can almost feel Jack Frost nipping at our nose - 65° at night. Brr! ❄

The Tampa Downtown Partnership is once again holding their Winter Village, featuring an ice rink, a cafe with warm beverages, and a holiday marketplace with local boutiques! The winter wonderland is located in Curtis Hixon Park and will take place from November 22 - January 5.

Along with the Winter Village, comes the transformation of the TECO Line Streetcar System into the Winter Village Express! Launching November 24, the Winter Village Express offers a festive experience aboard a holiday-themed Streetcar. Enjoy treats, music, and fun, while on board!

The Winter Village Express will operate every Sunday through December 22. You can pick up the Winter Village Express at either Whiting Station in Downtown Tampa (Station #11) or Centro Ybor Station (#2) in historic Ybor City.

The Winter Village is open 11/22-1/5

Winter Village Express Operating Schedule:

Whiting Station in Downtown Tampa:

• 3:25 p.m.
• 4:25 p.m.
• 5:25 p.m.
• 6:25 p.m.
• 7:25 p.m.

The cost of the Winter Village Express is $10.00 for a roundtrip ticket. Tickets are ONLY available online. All trips are first-come, first-serve, due to limited availability. Arrive early!

For more information on Winter Village, or the Winter Village Express, visit http://www.wintervillagetampa.com/.

Happy Holidays!

Route of the Week: Route 46

With a diverse service area roughly the size of Rhode Island, Hillsborough County provides a great mix of urban, suburban and rural destinations for our riders. Think about the destinations that you can see and experience with the HART transportation network!

We are switching things up with our first east-west Route of The Week, the Route 46!

The Route 46 provides Weekday and Saturday service from Downtown Tampa to Brandon (Dover). Route 46 operates eastbound from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday and westbound between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday - Saturday.

City Hall is accessible downtown via Route 46

In March 2014, midday hourly service was restored to The Route 46, while the route was rerouted to Marion Transit Center for greater ease of transfer. The east-end of Route 46 was also extended to Dover Road, to include more of the Brandon area.

Originating in Downtown, the Route 46 serves Tampa City Hall and The Hillsborough County District Courthouse.

Heading east through Ybor City via 4th Street, the Route 46 drops off within a couple blocks of Centro Ybor, The Columbia Restaurant and all that the historic district has to offer!

Spicola Family Pool is located at Desoto Park

Swimmers, skateboarders and joggers may want to jump on The Route 46 to Desoto Park, which features a pool, skate park and jogging track! Route 46 pickup and drop off for Desoto Park is located at S. 26th and E. Stuart streets.

Shop and transfer to the Route 8 at Westfield Brandon Mall

While in Brandon, the Route 46 serves a number of restaurants and other businesses along Causeway Boulevard en-route to Westfield Brandon Mall. Shop from over 250 stores and transfer to the Route 8 at Westfield Brandon Mall.

The Route 46 finally terminates on Dover Road at the Dover Park-n-Ride, which also houses the Route 22X.

From City Hall to Westfield Brandon Mall, HART Takes You There.

Route of the Week: Route 12

Point A to be Point B. HART does that very well.

With a diverse service area roughly the size of Rhode Island, Hillsborough County provides a great mix of urban, suburban and rural destinations for our riders. Think about the destinations that you can see and experience with the HART transportation network!

This week we focus on the Route 12.

The Route 12 provides Weekday, Saturday and Sunday service from Downtown Tampa to the area surrounding The University of South Florida. Service operates northbound from 4:00 a.m. - 12:15 and southbound 5:00 a.m. - midnight, during the week and 6:35 a.m. - 9:35 p.m. on the weekends. The Route 12 is averaging roughly 71,000 monthly rider trips in FY2016.

Operating just west of The University of South Florida, the Route 12 provides a nice mix of things to do (University Mall, Centro Ybor, etc.) and places to see and experience (Copeland Park and Rowlett Park Trails, Sanwa Farmer's Market, Perry Harvey Park).

HART drops off for Erwin Tech. Center at 22nd St./Hillsborough Ave.

Erwin Technical Center, a Hillsborough County public vocational school, is accessible to students and faculty via a Route 12 stop at 22nd Street and Hillsborough Avenue. Starting March 1, Hillsborough County students (ages 18 and under) will be able to catch a ride to Erwin Technical Center (or anywhere else in the HART system) for FREE with their Hillsborough County School or HART Youth ID. The HART STAY-cation promotion ends June 10.

Service to New York is accessible via Amtrak's Silver Star

Interested in riding the rails? The Route 12 provides convenient service to Union Station, where riders can catch Amtrak's Silver Star, with service to New York, Miami and a number of destinations in between. Connections to The TECO Line Streetcar are available at Nuccio Parkway and 7th Ave, walking distance to Cadrecha Plaza Station.

As with a number of routes, the Route 12 connects to 28 different routes at Marion Transit Center, located at 1211 N. Marion St. in downtown Tampa. Intercity service to Miami, Tallahassee, etc. is also available via Megabus and RedCoach connections at Marion Transit Center.

From attractions, to education, HART Takes You There.

Ride the (Heat)Wave with the TECO Line Streetcar this Saturday!

Tropical Heatwave this Saturday!

A Heatwave is expected to hit Ybor this Saturday - seventy-three bands across fourteen stages. Yeah, that's a Tropical Heatwave.

For over 30 years, WMNF 88.5 FM has provided the annual musical buffet of local and semi-local acts along with vendors selling food, drinks and other wares. The stages are as diverse as the performers with the Cuban Club in west Ybor; the Ritz in south central Ybor; and Centennial Park in east Ybor (among other venues) all housing acts throughout the day.

With so many venues spread throughout Ybor, your best bet is the TECO Line Streetcar. Four streetcar stations are located within 1 block of all 14 venues, so save your feet for dancing and hop on! The TECO Line Streetcar runs every 20 minutes and operates until 2 a.m. on Sunday.

Click for a map of Tropical Heatwave venues

Click the image to the right for a map of Ybor showing the Tropical Heatwave venues in relation to the TECO Line Streetcar. Visit the TECO Line Streetcar website for fare, map and schedule information.

Breakdown of streetcar stations serving Heatwave venues:

Centennial Park Station (Station #1)

• Centennial Park
• Collage

Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union Station (Station #2)

• Centro Ybor
• Crowbar 

Streetcar Society Station (Station #3)

• El Pasaje Plaza
• The Cuban Club (Band shell on the Patio, Ballroom & Cantina)
• The Ritz
• The Roosevelt 2.0

Cadrecha Plaza (Station #4)

• Creative Loafing's CL Space
• New World Brewery
• The Bricks

For more information on WMNF 88.5 FM's Tropical Heatwave, click here. Save your legs and some time with the TECO Line Streetcar! Enjoy the shows!