Employees to Vote for Art on HART!

With beautiful murals popping up on the sides of Tampa Bay businesses, warehouses, etc., HART and the Tampa Bay Foundation for Architecture & Design (TBFAD) saw a great opportunity to provide a talented local artist with a unique (and mobile) canvas - a bus!

TBFAD put out a call for local artists to provide artwork to be wrapped around a bus for an entire year. After narrowing the list to three "finalists," HART employees are now being given the opportunity to vote for their favorite artwork.

Public transportation and art are sewn into the fabric of communities across the world. HART and TBFAD hope this collaboration can forge future opportunities to further marry the local art scene with local transit and promote artistic expression throughout Hillsborough County.

All three Tampa Bay area artists, whose exceptional designs captured the theme of "Tampa culture," earned the chance to have their designs showcased.

The winner will have their bus canvas publicly unveiled in the coming weeks.

HART and TBFAD are excited to have the opportunity to showcase a local artist and transform an ordinary bus into an extraordinary mobile work of art!

Stay tuned.

Art Wrap Entries:

Entry #1 - Carlos "Zulu Painter" Culbertson

Entry #2 - Michelle Sawyer and Tony Krol

Entry #3 - Michael O' Connell

Route of the Week: The In-Towner

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 (re)feature The In-Towner as our Route of the Week!

The In-Towner is FREE!

The In-Towner is a shuttle service looping through Tampa's Downtown! The In-Towner provides rush hour service Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

The In-Towner is FREE and operates on a loop every 15 minutes. The service is great for connecting residents, workers, and tourists to/from downtown businesses, hotels, parking garages, and more! Riders can even connect to the HART network with a stop at Marion Transit Center.

HART recently changed the In-Towner route to better serve outlying Downtown Tampa parking garages and destinations.

Here are just some of the destinations the In-Towner serves!

USF CAMLS is just one of the businesses served by the In-Towner!

Businesses:

• Bank of America Plaza
• 100 North Tampa
• Rivergate Tower 
• Wells Fargo Center
• One Tampa City Center
• SunTrust Financial Centre
• Tampa City Hall
• Hillsborough County District Courthouse
• Amalie Arena
• USF CAMLS
• Tampa Convention Center  

Hotels:

• Hilton Tampa Downtown Hotel
• Aloft Tampa
• Sheraton Riverwalk
• Embassy Suites
• Marriott Waterside
• The Barrymore Hotel
• Floridan Palace Hotel
• Residence Inn/Courtyard by Marriott

Parking Garages: In-Towner connects remote parking to the business core!

• William F. Poe Garage
• Fort Brooke Garage
• Tampa Convention Center Garage
• City Hall Lot
• Twiggs Garage
• Whiting Garage

Entertainment:

• Tampa Museum of Art
• Straz Center for the Performing Arts
• Glazer Children's Museum
• Curtis Hixon Park
• Channelside Bay Plaza
• Tampa Theatre
• The Florida Aquarium
• Tampa Bay History Center
• Amalie Arena
• Florida Museum of Photographic Art

Sometimes it's work. And sometimes it's just for fun. Whatever brings you to downtown Tampa, the In-Towner gets you around while you're here!

From business to leisure, HART Takes You There.

Route of the Week: Route 14

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 shine the spotlight on Route 14! Operating between Marion Transit Center and Yukon Transfer Center, Route 14 provides Weekday service from 5:05 a.m. - 8:25 p.m. and Saturday service from 6:35 a.m. - 8:50 p.m.

 Route 14 serves a great mix of residential, educational, entertainment, and employment centers.

Accusoft is just one of the major employers served by Route 14

Commuters may be interested that Route 14 serves a host of employers including: Florida Department of Children & Families, Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance, Accusoft, St. Joseph's Hospital, WEDU PBS, and The University of Tampa.

Those looking to grab a bite to eat, or enjoy some family fun, may be interested in stops at The Straz Center, Tampa Museum of Art, Glazer Children's Museum, El Chuzo BBQ, Gino's Restaurant & Bar, La Pequena Colombia,  Pin Chasers, United Skates of America, and more! As you can see, a number of Tampa's cultural destinations are served by Route 14.

HART Summer Blast Pass is back and only $25!

We can't forget about students. Route 14 serves students from middle and high school (Adams Middle School, Chamberlain High School, Blake High School, Tampa Preparatory High School), all the way through college (The University of Tampa, Brewster Technical College). Better yet, ages 5-18 can purchase a HART Summer Blast Pass for only $25, and receive unlimited rides until August 31!

UT and Brewster students receive 25% off on a 31-day pass from their respective institutions.

From Brewster to Broadway, HART Takes You There.

Free Fun this Spring Break!

Middle/High School students ride HART FREE in March!

Staying in town for Spring Break this year? Can't afford much to do? Have no fear, we've put together a list of FREE (mostly) things to do for your Spring Break! What's even better is pairing it with FREE rides on HART! If you haven't heard about the HART STAY-cation promotion, read about it here. The gist is FREE rides for Hillsborough County middle and high school students throughout March on HART Local, Limited Express, In-Town Trolley and HARTFlex services!
 

The museum itself is a work of art

Art on the House
Tampa Museum of Art, Fridays from 4 pm - 8 pm
120 Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, 33602

Looking to treat your inner artist to a thought provoking and aesthetically appealing Spring Break? Tour 66,000 sq. ft of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities, alongside 20th-century fine art, all for FREE! The Tampa Museum of Art, through a gift from Hill Ward Henderson, provides FREE admission to the museum's galleries on Friday evenings. Donations however are appreciated.

The Tampa Museum of Art is served by HART local routes 7, 10 and the In-Town Trolley.

120 Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, 33602

River O' Green Fest

Photo credit: Tampa Bay Times

Curtis Hixon Park, March 17, 10 am - 4 pm
600 N Ashley Drive, Tampa FL 33602

On March 17, the Hillsborough River will be turning green. But don't worry, it's just dye! Mayor Bob Buckhorn has decided to dye the Hillsborough River kelly green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. The river will be dyed between the Cass Street Bridge and Kennedy Bridge.

Local Irish bands and dancers along with six food trucks will be on hand for the event. A number of kid's activities including, a kid's craft area, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fun Zone, the Tampa Bay Lightning Street Team, a jig contest, sack races, potato toss and a strength competition. The event is free and open to the public.

Curtis Hixon Park is served by HART local routes 7, 10, 14, 30, 46 and the In-Town Trolley.

Spring Break Beach Party
The Florida Aquarium, March 11, 11 am - 6 pm
701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, FL 32602

Are you a member of the Aquarium? Enjoy this members only night! From hula hoop contests to limbo competitions and exciting games for the kids, there is something for everyone.  A live DJ will keep the party going!

Florida Aquarium members are free, each additional guest is only $5!

The Florida Aquarium is served by HART local route 8 and the TECO Line Streetcar.

There a number of events for those looking toward the skies this Spring Break.

SPoT X Etnies benefiting Boards for Bros
Skatepark of Tampa, March 17, noon - 5 pm
4215 E Columbus Drive, Tampa FL 33605

What better than the wind whipping through your hair as you ripped through the air, defying gravity on a wooden deck with no safety net? If "Ollies," "kickflips" and "fakies" are in your vocabulary, you might want to check out the Skatepark of Tampa (SPoT) during your Spring Break. On Saturday, March 17, SPoT provides the opportunity to skateboard with professional skateboarders Andrew Brophy, Cairo Foster and Tyler Bledsoe (among others). It's all for a good cause too, as the event will be raising money for Boards for Bros, a SPoT initiative aimed at collecting and refurbishing skateboards so that they can be provided to kids in the community that can't afford their own.

Free food and drinks will be provided with a donation. For more information, visit the event page on the SPoT Facebook.

SPoT is served by HART local route 15.

Those looking for a more subdued aerial event might consider this next one at the Museum of Science and Industry...

Gaze at the stars!

Skywatch

Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), sundown
4801 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33617

See the universe up close as you gaze at the stars with astronomy experts. See various star clusters, craters on the moon, other planet's moons and more! If you've always been fascinated with the sky, this is the perfect event for you.

MOSI is served by HART local route 6.

Even if you can't get away for spring break, there's plenty to do right here at home! Get there, with HART!