HART SURPRISES 11 MILLIONTH BUS RIDER

HART Director of Public Relations Jill Cappadoro and CEO David Armijo congratulate 2007's
11 Millionth Rider, Mr. Lynn Lewis

 

 

 

September 27, 2007 – Tampa, Florida – The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) marked its all-time record 11 Millionth Ride of the year with a surprise celebration for one lucky bus rider.

HART’s new Chief Executive Officer David Armijo made a special presentation to the 11 Millionth Rider, Mr. Lynn Lewis of Tampa.

The surprise celebration took place at HART’s University Area Transit Center. Mr. Lewis was recognized as the 11 Millionth Rider as he de-boarded Route 6 – 56th Street.

Mr. Lewis said he’s been using HART services for about two years. In addition to Route 6, he also uses HART Route 1 – Florida Avenue, and Route 2 – Nebraska Avenue. He takes the bus to places like the grocery store, doctors’ appointments and the VA hospital.

“Each of these 11 million rides represents someone going to work, to the grocery store, to the doctor’s office, or some other important destination,” Armijo remarked before recognizing Mr. Lewis. “To demonstrate our commitment to the people who rely on HART to make these important trips, HART has worked diligently in the past year to improve our services. And as we reach these milestones, we are ever mindful of the future, and that HART is poised to play a part in the development of true transit choices in the Tampa Bay area.”

This year’s all-time high ridership comes on the heels of two straight years of record-breaking performance. HART’s fixed-route bus services exceeded 10 million rides for the first time in 2005. In 2006, the annual ridership record was broken again as nearly 10.7 million rides were taken on HART buses.

HART also saw its first million-ride month in FY 2007, with more than 1 million bus rides taken for the month of August. HART’s success is driven by gains in Commuter Express service, which has grown 24.4% this year, and by growth in local service due in part to late night service on several key routes that was implemented last November and has exceeded expectations. The added hours mean some routes run as late as 1:30 a.m.

The mission of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is to provide public transportation services which are safe, dependable and cost effective, thereby enhancing the quality of life in our community.