Yes, you heard it folks! Good news that is so good, I could not ignore it during vacation. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), awarded Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) with being the Outstanding Public Transit System of the Year for 2010!
What does that mean for HART? Well, it means that HART is now recognized as being “the best of the best” in public transit in all of North America. That’s right ALL OF NORTH AMERICA! You’d think that such an award might have gone to the Chicago CTA, or perhaps Los Angeles. But the reality is, many transit agencies, even in the big cities, have had to drastically raise fares and cut service due to falling government revenue and the ongoing global recession. That equation often leads to falling ridership because people can no longer rely on public transit to get to where they need to go.
But thanks to HART CEO, David Armijo, and his transformation of the HART organization since 2007, HART has been able to do the exact opposite; expand service, while only raising fares incrementally, leading to record highs in ridership! This includes the expansion of service along Route 30, which serves Tampa International Airport and Downtown Tampa, the implementation of HARTflex in SouthShore and Brandon, and the reorganization of North Tampa service to prepare for MetroRapid, a bus rapid transit service that is slated to go online in 2012.
For more information on this award, and what it means for HART, click here to go to the HART website. You may then select the respective links to get more information.
The Global Transit Guidebook 