EVERY day is Earth Day at HART!

Earth Month, Earth Day, Earth Week, Earth Hour... days, weeks and hours devoted to Mother Earth. What's it really mean when Earth Month shares April with Cranberries and Gooseberries Month, Straw Hat Month and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Month? Designations that are great company... if you're a gooseberry growing, straw hat wearing, IBS sufferer.

The point is that while it is great that society has taken the time to designate a day in celebration of the Earth, we ask if that's enough? Is one hour, day, week, month or even year good enough to celebrate and create awareness for the protection of the environment?

At HART, EVERY day is Earth Day. We live it, we breathe it, we love it and we're not alone. Environmentalism and public transportation go way back as transit by nature (no pun intended) is green.

One bus can take up 50 cars off the road!

It's easy to see why! Did you know that just one 40-foot bus can take up to 50 gas-guzzling, carbon emissions-spewing cars off the road? How about that a two-car household can reduce their carbon emissions by 4800 pounds or 10% annually, just by switching their commute to public transportation?

Do you love heavy doses of carbon dioxide? Neither does the environment. Carbon dioxide contributes to smog in cities as well as some scientists believing that it contributes to the gradual warming of the Earth. Luckily, public transportation saves 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. That number is equivalent to emissions resulting from electricity generated for ALL of the households in D.C., New York City, Atlanta, Denver and Los Angeles... combined.

Looking to reduce your carbon footprint?

The great thing is that there are fairly easy ways to reduce your footprint. Check out this Carbon Savings Calculator to see how much you can reduce your carbon footprint by switching part or all your travel to public transportation.

HART Green Initiatives

At HART, we not only help others go green, but we like to practice what we preach. Over the years,

CNG buses reduce carbon monoxide by 90% over diesel

HART has focused on being more environmentally responsible with a number of green initiatives including: transitioning our fleet to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), becoming ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System (EMS) compliant (one of 14 agencies nationwide), solar panels on shelters, kickoff of employee recycling program, recyclable vehicle wash systems and a LEED-certified renovation of our Operations and Maintenance facility.

Want to do your part?

Businesses:

If you're looking to do your part as a business owner, Best Workplaces for Commuters has a top 10 list of ways to help green your employees' commute. The HART Corporate Transit Program may be an option. Federal law entitles all U.S. employers to a completely tax-deductible business expense of up to $255 per employee per month toward the cost of using public transportation.  Funds can also be allocated to vanpooling.

Individuals:

HART is a great way to start doing your part. Not only are you saving the environment, you're also saving money (up to $10,000 a year), reducing congestion and relieving stress.

If you're already riding HART, the next best thing to do is share how easy HART is with a friend. Go green and save some green too!

HART has you covered with upgraded bus stops and shelters!

One out of five of HART's 3,200 stops are shelters! 

HART is fully committed to its progressive Bus Stop Improvement Program, which will make all bus stops ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant; not just for someone in a wheelchair, but anyone with any kind of mobility device. For the past couple of years, a route-by-route assessment has been underway for all of the agency's approximately 3,200 bus stops and 681 shelters to ensure they comply with these standards. Sites scheduled for improvements are chosen based on ridership activity and demand, proximity to other nearby covered stops, adequate right-of-way, opportunities to sell advertisements, and planned neighborhood improvements. 

This project, known as the Bus Stop Improvement Program, also provides all riders with enhanced passenger amenities such as, bus bays, new sidewalks and shelters to help protect customers from the rain and hot sunshine. This is especially significant since 55.3 percent of HART riders board at shelters.

All new shelters are lit by solar power, saving taxpayer money on electrical costs and making them environmentally friendly. By using solar power the authority's energy savings will return the cost of investment while enjoying increased safety, less maintenance, and a smaller carbon footprint! Meanwhile HART has already tripled the number of covered stops from one shelter for every 15 stops to one shelter for every five stops.

The latest installation completed was placement of a bus bay on Fowler Avenue and 53rd Street in the City of Temple Terrace. To match the city's Mediterranean-style theme it was given a custom Spanish-tiled roof. The installation also includes stand-alone seating to accommodate the high volume of patrons that utilize the stop.    

Also, completed were bus bay projects on the south side of Progress Blvd east of I-75 at Valley Dale Drive in front of Villages of Bloomingdale Apartments and MLK Jr. Blvd and Interstate Corporate Center just west of I-4.

Improvements also have other practical benefits for riders, for example, an insufficient number of stops can diminish customer access to HART services, so creating new stops under the Bus Stop Improvement Program addresses that issue. Similarly, optimizing the distances between bus stops helps ensure that buses stay on schedule by cutting down on unnecessary, inefficient stops that can cause delays.

The Bus Stop Improvement Program is supported by federal funding, as well as local impact fees. In addition, this program is driven by partnerships. An advertising contract with Signal Outdoor, for instance, helps offset shelter costs. Signal Outdoor pays for shelters and their maintenance, in exchange for shared advertising revenue. HART also engages with private developers, local government and the Florida Department of Transportation for opportunities to obtain land easements or offset construction cost.

Aug. 1, 2011 HART Board Recap: Say YES to the Bench

The HART Board met today at 9 a.m. for its regular meeting at County Center in downtown Tampa.

One of the most-asked questions HART hears from customers is "Are you going to put up a shelter at my stop?" The answer is a resounding "yes!" Thanks to a contract the HART Board approved today, 41 new shelters will be purchased and installed within the next two years. The cost for these 41 shelters is $360,530; however, the contract is for up to $846,220 over the next two years, so more shelters may be purchased should more funding become available.

HART currently has one shelter for every seven of its bus stops, up from one for every 15 bus stops three years ago. There are about 3,700 bus stops throughout Hillsborough County, and new shelters will be installed at sites that are selected based on public input received throughout the year and ridership trends.

With inclement weather conditions endured by this area, shelters are extremely important to protecting customers from the elements, and makes public transit easier and more convenient to use.

In other matters, the HART Board voted 8-2 to certify the .5000 millage rate in the proposed fiscal year 2012 operating and capital budgets. Before these are finalized and adopted by the HART Board, two public hearings will take place Sept. 12 and Sept. 26. Both hearings will begin at 5:30 p.m. and both will take place at the HART Ybor Office, Florida Conference Room, 1201 E. Seventh Ave.

The HART Board also approved some bus service modifications for November 2011, which affect Routes 30, 39 and 97. Routes 2, 4, 6, 12, 33, 41 -- which were also part of the proposed November 2011 service changes -- will maintain their level of transit service.

The HART Board also voted 7-3 to further discuss the 2012-2021 Transit Development Plan (TDP) at a Special HART Board Meeting on Monday, Aug. 22, 10 a.m. (or immediately following the Finance Committee Meeting) at the HART Ybor Office. The TDP focuses on high-quality and expanded bus service, as well as enhanced transit options, to meet the mobility needs of this community over the next 10 years. The TDP is a document required by the Florida Department of Transportation to be updated annually by each public transit agency throughout the state. A major update is required every five years, and this year's TDP is a major update.