Ride HART FREE on Earth Day!

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.

Ride Free on Earth Day

Ride FREE on Earth Day!

Still not convinced? How about a FREE ride on HART in celebration of Earth Day? Grab a friend, make a day of it, and try HART. We are providing FREE rides on all services on Monday, April 22.

We believe you will be pleasantly surprised at how affordable, clean, and convenient it is to get around with HART.

The cherry on top? There is a good chance that you'll be riding in a clean-burning, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus or van, as HART transitions our fleet away from diesel. HART currently operates 70 CNG buses.

Try transit! Your planet (and wallet) will thank you!

To calculate your carbon emissions savings by switching to transit, visit APTA's Carbon Emissions Savings Calculator.

HART's Continued Commitment to Sustainability

HART Interim CEO Jeff Seward attends 15th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

HART Interim Chief Executive Officer Jeff Seward is continuing HART’s dialogue in sustainability conversations as he attends the 15th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.  As the region’s public transportation provider, it is imperative that we fully understand our services’ impact on all legs of the sustainability stool, and how to lessen the impact on the environmental leg, while building a strong influence over the cultural, economic and social legs. 

HART Interim CEO Jeff Seward

Mr. Seward has ensured HART’s representation in the sustainability and climate change conversations over the last 5 years by presenting HART’s on-going environmental and climate change mitigation work in academic centric and industry conversations held at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, University of California, Berkeley, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon and several American Public Transportation Association sustainability conferences.

HART’s work on reducing its carbon footprint by over 17% over the past 5 years, significantly reducing energy consumption in its operating facilities, and its international certification as the only ISO 14001 environmentally sustainable transit agency in the State of Florida, one of only a dozen in North America, has been lauded by these organizations.

HART Achieves Prestigious Environmental & Sustainability Certification!

HART is 1 of 13 transit agencies in US to be ISO 14001 certified

HART recently received an official ISO 14001 Certification for its Environmental Sustainability and Management System (ESMS). Audit firm, DQS Inc., has certified HART as one of only 13 transit agencies in the country and the only transit system in Florida to achieve International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) 14001 Standard.

Sounds good, right? But, what does it mean?

Jeff Seward, HART Chief Financial Officer explains.

"Developing an ISO 14001 certified Environmental and Sustainability Management System (ESMS) program provides assurance to our community, stakeholders, and employees that our operations and services are environmentally friendly. Now that we're certified, the ESMS also provides a framework for us to continuously take steps to reduce pollution and continually improve our environmental footprint on the Tampa Bay region."

HART began work to achieve this certification in 2013 when it was accepted to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) ISO 14001 EMS Institute at Virginia Tech University. A two-year program, the academy is designed to help transit agencies develop and implement an ESMS, using the ISO 14001 Standard. ISO is an independent, non-governmental organization that brings together experts to share knowledge and develop standards that provide solutions to global challenges such as environmental management.

Our ESMS provides improved internal controls

These management tools enable an organization to control the environmental impact of its activities and represent a structured approach to setting environmental objectives and targets. Fulfilling the requirements of the standard demands objective evidence which can be audited to demonstrate that the environmental management system is operating effectively in conformance with the standard. Benefits include higher conformance with legislative and regulatory requirements, improved efficiency, minimized risk of regulatory and environmental fines, reductions in waste and consumption of resources, and better internal controls.

The FTA has sponsored four ESMS academies, each with a class of 10 transit agencies. Of those, 13 have gone on to become ISO 14001 certified and HART is the only one in Florida, placing it in the upper echelon of transit agencies that have made a commitment to the environment.

In terms of ridership, the other thirteen transit systems are diverse. Several transit agencies are close to our size; Foothill Transit in California provided more than 14 million rides in 2015. Sound Transit in Seattle is over twice our size and provides 28 million rides a year; Lane Transit District (LTD) in Oregon provides an average of 11 million rides a year. Another peer with the certification is the nation's third largest transit provider, Los Angeles Metro, which provided 453 million boardings in 2015. Agencies of all sizes are making the commitment. Pursuing this level of environmental performance makes for a safer, cleaner environment.

Green at HART

Forty-one years ago, the first Earth Day was held around the country with over 20 million people participating in the event to create awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural beauty. One day out of 365 days (366 when you throw a leap year into the mix) to appreciate the Earth and protecting it.

Shouldn't the Earth be a concern... every day? That's the thought process at HART.

What we do naturally has a connection with "green", through taking cars off the road, reducing carbon emissions and providing for more walkable communities. In fact, the American Public Transportation (APTA), shows that public transportation saves the United States 4.2 billion gallons of gas annually and saves the U.S. $13.7 billion in congestion each year!

As an organization, we feel it's necessary to be a responsible organization focused on environmental sustainability. That's why we don't just rest on the numbers above.

HART has taken a number of steps to ensure that as an organization we are doing our part for the planet. Sure we have some hybrid buses and some hybrid staff vehicles, but the meat and potatoes is in the waste that HART recycles during our day-to-day maintaining and operating of the buses and the 750+ employee organization.

Steps that HART takes in regards to our fleet vehicles:

• Entire fleet is EPA certified
• Replaced 38% of our bus fleet with the latest EPA-certified low emission engines
  
• Waste oil, used non-crushed oil filters, coolant, scrap metal, aluminum is all recycled
  
• Freon is reused after being captured by a reclaim system
• HART purchases recycled and environmentally friendly coolants
• Use of synthetic oils, which extends the life of the oil and minimizes the number of times we have to drain it
• 80% recyclable vehicle wash systems
  

Steps HART takes in regards to our transit facilities:

• Waterless urinals and low-water consumption equipment are in place
• Solar film was recently (April 2011) installed at Marion Transit Center to improve cooling efficiency
• Motion sensor lights in restroom facilities
• Electric hand dryers
  
• Fluorescent bulbs are crushed; glass remains and mercury are recycled
• All chemicals and cleaners are green certified
• Use of non-aerosol sprays
• No-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints that can have pretty serious health effects (liver/kidney damage)
• 65% of our bus shelters have solar panels, with plans to include panels on all our shelters within 2 years
• All office paper, batteries, copier toner cartridges and electronic circuit boards are recycled
  

With over 750+ employees, 200+ vehicles, and over 10 million miles traveled by our service vehicles last year, you can imagine just how much waste is recycled.

HART has also operated on a compressed work week schedule since 2008 for our Administrative Office in Ybor. The office is closed every other Friday, allowing HART to realize some energy cost savings through a reduction in energy consumption.

Shortly, HART will also take the "LEED" by beginning construction on the HART Operations Facility renovation into a Leadership into Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building - get it? Lead... LEED? The redesign will introduce a slew of new windows into the building, taking advantage of natural lighting. Light-emitting diode (LED) lighting (consuming 50% less electricity than fluorescent lighting) will also be featured throughout the building.

The name of the game nowadays is sustainability. Using public transportation is one of a variety of possible sustainable commutes, but know that beyond the buses, vans and streetcars, HART is doing its part for the environment!

In the past HART has been named a "Best Workplace for Commuters", given a "Clean Air Partnership Designation", and received "GreenFleet" status through the Enivronmental Protection Commission.

HART would like to extend the "green" gesture, by offering FREE rides on the HART system (not including the TECO Line Streetcar and HARTplus) on Earth Day, April 22, when you ride with a friend!

You can't beat saving a little green, while going green!

Find out how much you can reduce your carbon footprint by using the Carbon Savings Calculator on the HART of Green page at www.goHART.org/HART_of_green!

A Commute that Pays You Back!

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released their new Transit Savings report showing how much Americans can save by leaving their car in the garage and taking public transportation. The APTA report shows that on average, Americans can save $10,116 a year or $843 a month.

Over $10,000 a year by giving up the wheel, picking up a book and letting HART do the driving! With the cost of a 1-day unlimited ride pass at $3.75 a day ($60 MONTHLY pass) and most routes running every 15-30 minutes, your weekly $60 fill up doesn't look so tantalizing anymore, eh?

We previously mentioned on this blog around the New Year, the Top 10 Reasons to Try Transit in 2011. Our #2 reason to try transit was the threat of $3-a-gallon gas. Only four months removed from that list, and crude oil prices on the rise, we are looking at close to $4-a-gallon gas.

Riding with HART makes even more sense when you realize that monetary savings are only one piece of the puzzle. Studies show that transit riders are three times more likely to meet fitness guidelines (30 minutes a day of physical activity) than drivers. Not to mention the reduction in stress by trading in the steer-wheel gripping gridlock for a nice book or end-of-day power nap.

The suh-weetest part of it all, is that should you find yourself in an emergency or an unplanned situation, you can catch a taxi cab ride to your destination, FREE. Actually, you can catch up to eight free taxi cabs annually. There are some restrictions, but as long as you ride the bus two times a week, TBARTA Commuter Services has you covered. To register, call them at (800) 998-RIDE.

If you're not yet convinced on transit, how about the good ol' fashion "everyone else is doing it" argument? Going "green" is in and terms like "global warming", "carbon footprint", and "eco-friendly" have all become a part of the general vernacular. Do you have energy-efficient light bulbs, low-flow shower-heads, and recycle bins in your house, but then drive a gas guzzler to work? Then, there is still work to be done.

The ultimate green initiative is public transportation!

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".

Hopefully by now, you're at least considering a trip on HART. Should you need a bigger push, then try us out - FREE! On Earth Day - April 22, HART is offering FREE rides on all local routes when you board with a friend. They don't even have to be your BFF (best friend forever). Make a new friend at your stop and give HART a shot. We feel that you'll be pleasantly surprised at how affordable, clean, convenient, and awesome it is to get around with HART.

Trust us, your mind, body, and wallet will thank you!

To calculate how much you individually can save by switching to transit, visit APTA's Fuel Savings Calculator.

For information on HART services, visit www.goHART.org, or for a "how-to ride" HART video, visit our YouTube channel.