HART may drop 3 routes, trim others

The plan to slash $4.6M from the agency's budget leaves some bus riders unhappy.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD
Published July 20, 2007

TAMPA - Hillsborough County's bus agency presented its plan to the public Thursday for slashing $4.6-million from its budget.

It will eliminate three of 43 bus routes and trim some little-used trips from a dozen other routes. It also cancels a new door-to-door suburban minibus service that was to start this summer.

Not everyone at Hillsborough Area Regional Transit's public forum was happy about that, but that's to be expected.

For instance, Don Schings thinks his community, Sun City Center, is getting a raw deal.

A cutback to only one morning and one afternoon round trip to Brandon Town Center is totally inadequate, he said. "We think they've gone way overboard in south county."

Reduced downtown trolley service also worries hotel operators.

The response to people's concerns: "Unfortunately, these aren't regular times," said Bob Potts, HART's general manager for development and planning.

Due to property tax cuts, HART is trimming its budget by targeting routes with the fewest passengers. Its priority is to serve people who take the bus to work or medical appointments.

Here are its plans:

- End Route 98, a trolley from the Tampa Convention Center to Hyde Park. It's mainly used by convention visitors and costs about $400,000 a year to operate - or $8.29 per passenger - and carries on average less than two riders per trip.

- End Route 35LX, which brings shoppers from Sun City Center to Brandon Town Center. HART will revamp its Ruskin-to-Sun City circulator bus to do that.

- End Route 52LX, from central Pasco to the University area and then to downtown Tampa. Another express bus straight from Wesley Chapel and New Tampa to downtown will still operate.

- Eliminate midday hours for the downtown trolley - a move that's upsetting some hotels whose guests use it. This is the yellow trolley bus, not the streetcar on rails. It would run from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.

"Some of the downtown hotels feel that cutting back on the hours will have a negative impact on them," said Karen Kress of the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

- Reduce the frequency of buses on routes including Armenia, Cypress and Waters avenues, and a South Tampa circulator.

- Shave little-used trips or sections of routes from buses serving Brandon, Dover, FishHawk, the South Shore area, Town 'N Country and Westchase.

HART's governing board will vote on these moves Aug. 6. The cuts are to take effect Oct. 7.

Mike Brassfield can be reached at (813) 226-3435 or brassfield@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 20, 2007, 00:20:33]