Doing more with less. That’s essentially the theme espoused by Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority CEO Katharine Egan since taking over the financially troubled agency nearly three years ago, but it’s definitely the case now as HART unveils its “Mission Max” schedule Sunday morning.
(UPDATED) The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) says they will be up and running at full service on Thursday, three days after Hurricane Irma blasted through the Tampa Bay area.
Ignoring pleas by the public to not cut specific bus routes, including from the blind and disabled community, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Agency (HART) Monday approved a plan that could cut nearly 20 percent of its routes. Called “Mission Max,” the plan goes into effect in October.
Last year, transit ridership decreased in almost every major city in the country, including Tampa and St. Petersburg. But two cities bucked the trend — Seattle and Houston, which posted 4.1 and 2.3 percent increases, respectively. What makes the transit agencies of those two communities stand out is that they were also in the midst of redesigning their bus networks. That’s something that the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is now in the middle of doing in time for the beginning of the…
With ridership levels down locally and nationally, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) CEO Katherine Eagan says the time is ripe for adapting the agency to a new transit landscape. After years and years of continuing growth in terms of passenger rides, HART’s ridership dropped more than 6 percent in 2016, a trend that was becoming apparent last summer. But while the buses aren’t as full as they have been in the past, Eagan says that there are other products and services…
A Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) committee approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) on Monday for further collaboration between the two Bay area transit agencies, but not before some members had to tamp down the notion that the agreement could ultimately lead to a merger — and perhaps a tax increase for transit. “This would be adopting an agreement to codify some opportunities to work more closely together,” said HART CEO Katharine Eagan in presenting the…
In late October, Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long – in her role with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Agency (PSTA) – came before her counterparts with the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) to talk up the benefits of the two transit agencies collaborating on a more formal basis, which she said could be used as way to leverage the power of the region when trying to procure more federal and state funding. However at Monday’s HART meeting of its Legislative and Strategic Planning Committee, board member…