HART Seeks Grants for Regional Fare Initiative

Smartcards such at the Orca card allow Tap N' Go verification!

Imagine grabbing a HART or PSTA bus and paying with the same fare media that you just used to ride MCAT and Polk Transit. Later, you head to Pasco County and use the same fare media to ride the bus there. Moving to such a system is in the works in the Tampa Bay area.

HART is leading the push to secure important federal and state funds for the completion of a long-awaited regional fare collection system upgrade that will benefit a regional connectivity in the Tampa Bay region.

HART has applied for two separate grants that would provide more than $20 million to fund the Regional Revenue Collection and Inter-Jurisdictional Mobility Project.

The initiative, led by HART, represents a collaborative partnership between Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, and Sarasota counties. Once it is finalized, patrons will be able to travel across the entire multi-county Tampa Bay region using one single ticket in the form of a smart card that can also be instantly downloaded wirelessly to carry on mobile devices.

The Regional Working Group has spent more than two years planning and strategizing to ensure a smooth and timely transition to the high-tech system. The upgrade will allow transit passengers, including those with disabilities and the elderly, easy access to transportation throughout a multi-county region.

"This is a transformational moment for regional cooperation in the Tampa Bay area," said HART Chief Financial Officer Jeff Seward. "The benefits of a more connected fare collection system would be evident from the start from a regional standpoint, and would also help others upgrade their systems so that we all can be compatible. Eventually the customer that's out there would be able to use a smart card technology that would work seamlessly across all systems."

Customers will be able to check their smartcard balances at any time and buy or reload the cards at multiple, convenient card outlets or even online. Because the cards can be scanned instantly on transit vehicles with a digital fare reading device on board, the process of boarding will be accelerated for increased efficiency with a more accurate system that saves HART and its customer's time and effort.

Although $2,367,907 million of funding has been received to-date from a combination of State and TBARTA grants, there remains a shortfall of $10,232,093 based on full smartcard technology implementation at an estimated cost of $12,600,000 for hardware, infrastructure, and integration

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.

 

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.