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    1. Bus

    HART Ridership on the Rise, Sets an All-Time Record

    Nov. 14, 2014
    Despite declining gas prices, October marked the highest month for bus ridership in HART history.
    Related To: Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART)

    The numbers are in, and for the first time HART provided 1,438,947 passenger trips in one month, which is roughly a 5.8 percent increase over October 2013. 

    "Our weekday ridership continues to grow, we're a different HART today, and the community has taken notice," said HART Chief Executive Officer Katharine Eagan. "While this is encouraging news, we have to continue the work to improve HART efficiencies, while simultaneously planning for its future growth."

    For the month of October, bicycle boardings in Hillsborough County saw a 7.4 percent increase over September's numbers. HART logged 21,430 boardings compared to 19,961 last month. In fact, the HART bikes on buses program saw a 4 percent increase in FY2014 or 233,475 boardings compared to 224,466 in FY2013.

    In addition, almost 192,000 trips from University of South Florida students, faculty and staff have been taken on HART services since July. In October the use of the HART U-Pass service for USF students, faculty and staff increased 9.5 percent or 4,737 trips compared to last year. The U-Pass program is a partnership with the university that allows students to ride any HART local bus for free with a valid student ID; faculty and staff ride for 25¢. 

    Meanwhile more than 2.7 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation in the second quarter of 2014, according to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).