PRESS RELEASE
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Sharon Dent, Executive Director
4305 East 21 St. Avenue, Tampa,
Florida 33605-2300 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: HILLSBOROUGH AREA REGIONAL October 19, 2001 - TAMPA, Fla. � Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) will be implementing service and fare changes beginning Sunday, October 28, 2001. Route modifications and adjustments are being implemented to provide more efficient service to our patrons and the community. Students older than 17 will be eligible to purchase the 31-Day Local Unlimited Ride and the 20-Ride Local fare card rate through participating educational institutions. Adult students should inquire at their educational institution. Fare changes include reducing the cash fare to 50 cents per ride on County Neighborhood Circulator services and increasing the cost of the 31-Day Local Unlimited HARTride Fare Card from $35 to $40 for local full fare and from $17.50 to $20.00 for discounted fare. Additional route modifications include the elimination of one regular route, Route 4 that serves the morning short trips operating between MacDill Air Force Base and Britton Plaza. Trips to Tampa General Hospital are being eliminated on Routes 20X�Lutz Express, 22X--North Brandon Express and 26X--Carrollwood Express. See the following for detailed description. The mission of HART is to provide a safe, convenient and effective mass transit system that is a viable transportation alternative for Hillsborough County residents including transit dependent transportation disadvantaged people, to increase the capacity of the surface transportation system, help reduce air pollution and contribute to the local economy. Maps of the routes being changed can be obtained from any HART facility. For more information on bus routes, transit fares and other customer services, call the HARTinfo Line at (813) 254-4278 and at 626-9158 for TDD/hearing impaired. SERVICE CHANGES Route 4 � Palma Ceia: The morning
short trips operating between MacDill Air Force Base and Britton Plaza are
being eliminated. Connections between the Air Force Base and Britton Plaza
during this time period are currently provided by Route 17 � MacDill Avenue
every 30 minutes. Route 11 � Northwest Tampa: This route will now provide two way service along Hesperides Street and Manhattan Avenue between Hillsborough and Waters Avenue instead of travelling on Hoover Road and Anderson Road. Service on Anderson Road will now be provided by Route 87 � Town �N Country East. Route 15 � Columbus Drive: Service will be extended west of Tampa Bay Center to serve Lois Avenue including such destinations as Hillsborough Community College and W.T. Edwards School. Route 32 � M.L. King/Dale Mabry: This route will be extended east from netpark along M.L. King Jr. Boulevard ending at County Road 579. This route will no longer travel east of Dale Mabry Hwy. serving Tampa Bay Blvd. and Lois Avenue. This area will now be served by Route 15 � Columbus Drive. Route 33 � Fletcher Avenue: The limited service on the eastern segment of the route is being modified. Adjustments to schedules are being made to better support work trips. Service through Hidden River Parkway and Telecom Park will be discontinued. Route 37 � West Brandon/Faulkenberg: Service will be modified along the M.L. King Boulevard segment approaching netpark in order to compliment changes to Route 32. Route 38 � Brandon/netpark: This route will be eliminated. Routes 32 and 37 are being adjusted to provide service to those areas previously served by Route 38. Route 39 � Busch Boulevard: This route will no longer serve the stop behind Citrus Park Town Center. Instead, it will travel along Citrus Park Boulevard in both directions. Also, one earlier weekday eastbound trip will be added. Route 81 � Westshore/Britton Plaza Connector: This circulator service will provide limited service between Westshore Plaza and Britton Plaza, currently provided by Route 10 � Kennedy Blvd. This route will operate on a flexible basis and may travel into neighborhoods within 3/4 mile of the route. Requests for such pickups and drop offs require a 24-hour advance request by calling the HARTinfo line. Route 87 � Town �N Country East/Route 88 Town �N Country West: Route 87 will now travel along Anderson Road (currently served by Route 11). Route 88 will no longer serve Jackson Springs Park, Morgan Elementary or Shimberg Park. Route 88 will no longer serve Sheldon Road north of Waters Avenue. Circulation through Rocky Point Retirement Center, Pinehurst, and Deerfield residential areas will be eliminated. Frequency of trips will increase. Route 20X � Lutz, Route 22X � North Brandon & Route 26X � Carrollwood: Trips to Tampa General Hospital are being eliminated on these routes. Route 21X � Town �N Country Express: This route will be eliminated. Route 58LX is being adjusted to provide service to those areas previously served by Route 21X. Route 50X � Citrus/Casey: This route will no longer serve the Casey Road Park and Ride. Route 58LX � Southern Cross County Limited Express: This route will be adjusted to consolidate the current Route 21X into the travel pattern from Oldsmar to downtown Tampa via Town �N Country. Additional daily trips will be added and the route will provide service to the Westshore business district and along the Marion Street Transitway. Route 200X � Clearwater: The
current number of daily weekday trips are being reduced from 17 to 14. County Neighborhood Circulators: These services will be offered at a flat
fare of 50 cents Route 81 � Westshore/Britton Plaza Both the discount fare card and the local fare card will increase in cost. The 31-Day local discount fare card will now cost $20.00, and the 31-Day local fare card will sell for $40.00. 5 � Day Unlimited HARTride Fare Card and LunchCrunch Fare Card: Both of these fare cards will be eliminated. HARTlink Services: Patrons will now be able to choose from a $1.75 cash fare for a one-way van and bus-linked trip or they can use a 1 � Day Premium Unlimited Ride fare card at $3.50 when making more than one van/bus-linked trip. HARTflex Services: Route 84 � South County Circulator provides bus/van service in deviation zones serving neighborhoods within 3/4 mile of the route. Patrons can now use the 1 � Day Premium Unlimited Ride fare card at $3.50 for this type of service or pay a 50 cents cash base fare with $1.25 for each deviation. (A cash fare for a trip on Route 84 with one deviation would be $1.75; for two deviations, it would be $3.00). Discount Fare Card Categories: The four current discount categories will be combined into two new categories: Senior/Youth and Disabled/Medicare. NEW FARES 3 � Day Unlimited HARTride Visitor Fare
Card: Adult Student Discount: Students older than 17 will be eligible to purchase the 31 � Day Local Unlimited Ride and 20 � Ride Local fare card at the discounted fare card rate through participating educational institutions. Adult students should inquire at their educational institution. -HART- |