HART Ridership Continues to Grow

April 8, 2015

Ridership is on the rise at HART.

The agency saw ridership gains on all modes during March 2015. This marks the sixth consecutive month of providing more than 1 million passenger trips in FY2015.    

That is apparent in the most recent ridership report, with 1,295,328 total bus trips during the month; a 4.4 percent increase compared to March 2014.

Fiscal year to date ridership is up 244,358 or 3.3 percent ahead of the same period last year with HART on track to exceed over 15 million boardings in FY2015.  

"These are exciting times at HART, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to provide dependable service to a growing number of riders each and every month," said HART Chief Executive Officer Katharine Eagan. "The continued ridership growth on routes across the county reinforces the need for transportation funding dollars to support existing routes and services and the development of new ones."

  • March 2 saw the greatest daily ridership throughout the month with 57,852 bus trips.
  • 7 days exceeded 50,000 riders.
  • The TECO Line Streetcar System saw an increase of 11.1 percent for March and is up 4.4 percent for FY2015 compared to last year.
  • For the month of March, HART logged 20,631 bicycle boardings.
  • HARTFlex ridership was up 9.5 percent from March 2014 and up 6.7 percent for the year.

Year-to-date (FY2014 vs. FY2015), bus ridership is up 3.3 percent; an increase of 244,358 trips compared to the same period last year. 
In addition, April 9 is Stand Up for Transportation Day. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14), HART Board Chair Tampa City Councilman Mike Suarez as well as HART CEO Katharine Eagan will meet one-on-one with HART customers and the community on board a MetroRapid bus for a Transit Town Hall on Thursday, April 9. They will depart from Marion Transit Center in downtown Tampa at 10 a.m. MetroRapid North-South travels along Nebraska and Fletcher Avenues to connect patrons to North Tampa.

The Transit Town Hall is part of the nationwide Stand Up for Transportation Day to create awareness and support for long-term sustainable transportation funding that create jobs and spur economic activities in local communities throughout the country. Federal funding for transportation - including public transit, highways, bridges, etc. - is set to expire on May 31.