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HARTline may be ready to dump streetcar

Some board members prefer someone else run the Tampa streetcar that carries few area residents.

By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published January 17, 2006

TAMPA - In the 20 minutes it takes the streetcar to rattle along 2.4-miles of track between Ybor City and the Channel District, John and Corita Belyea and another couple are the only passengers to hop aboard.

"More people would ride this if it went anywhere," Corita Belyea said. "It would be nice if it went farther, like to the downtown."

It has been local sport to point out the streetcar system's shortcomings since its 2002 debut. Though they like the system, the Belyeas underscore a chief complaint: A trip on one of Tampa's streetcars can be a lonely ride.

It could get lonelier.

Last week, the system's operator, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, raised doubts about whether it would continue running the system.

The board has several members, including County Commissioner Brian Blair, who say the streetcar diverts resources from the agency's mission of providing bus service.

The HARTline board voted last week to have the nonprofit organization responsible for operating the system, Tampa Historic Streetcar Inc., seek bids for the job rather than have HARTline automatically continue as the contractor.

Board members concluded that HARTline would submit a bid, so it could do the job again if selected.

Still, the vote disappointed Tampa Historic Streetcar president Michael English, who sent a letter asking that HARTline simply renew the contract, which expires in September.

"Frankly, we've been happy with HARTline," English said. "But if the HARTline board doesn't want us, we'll look at alternatives."

While it's far from a given that HARTline wants to abandon the streetcar, last week's meeting made clear that at least some board members wouldn't mind making it an orphan.

But other board members said it's unlikely HARTline would shut it down. To do so would require the repayment of millions in federal grants used to buy and build the $53-million system.

But who would run it, if not HARTline, isn't clear.

Private companies could be interested, but generally public transit agencies operate rail lines because they are money-losers. Passenger fares cover an average of only 27 percent of rail revenue, according to the American Public Transportation Association in Washington, D.C.

English said Tampa could take it over. Although HARTline owns the system's 10 streetcars, the city owns the tracks. Yet Bonnie Wise, Tampa's finance director, said no one at the city has discussed operating it.

Blair said it's better to wait six or seven years for downtown to develop before operating a system that carries few city and county residents. While ridership climbed 2 percent to 434,498 passengers in 2005, about two-thirds are tourists.

The streetcar has spurred development in the Channel District and is popular with tourists, English said. With condominium projects getting built around the tracks, now would be an inopportune time to pull out, he said.

[Last modified January 17, 2006, 01:24:05]