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Blue collar and white, seniors, students: More folks are taking the bus

By Jared Leone, Times staff writer
In print: Friday, October 3, 2008

Frank Cintron, a home remodeler, finds the bus less stressful than taking on traffic in his van, and much less expensive. It’s $3.25 for an all-day pass.

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BRANDON — Tiffany Davis sat on a wall with her newborn daughter close by in a stroller. They were waiting at the Marion Transit Center for the Route 8 to go home to east Tampa after a day of doctor appointments. It was the first time in a long while that she used the bus. "Don't worry about it. It is not what people make it out to be," Davis, 25, said Monday afternoon. "It's easier." Riding the bus is more popular than ever. Routes are more frequent. The rush hour ride to downtown Tampa couldn't be any easier. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit is spending millions building new transfer centers and park-and-ride sites as part of a more than $40-million program to improve bus service. But who's riding the bus?

Ray Chiaramonte, among others. He's the interim executive director of the metropolitan planning organization, the county group that creates long-term transportation goals. He catches the Route 30 bus through Tampa to his job downtown. On the bus, Chiaramonte said, he gets extra time to read, work from his Blackberry or just relax while someone else fights rush hour traffic.

"It's just a better experience, especially now with this new transfer center," he said. He took the bus for two years and then stopped briefly, but when gas went up he got back on the bus.

Across the county, officials report a 7.5 percent increase in bus ridership over last year. July was the second-busiest month ever for HART, with 1.03-million bus passengers.

The number of riders on Route 30 is up more than 4 percent from last year. That means two more people per trip on average.

"Even though gas prices have started to drop, ridership is still going up," HART spokesman Ed Crawford said.

With the increase in riders, HART is making facility improvements that include the Northwest Transfer Center, at Sheldon Road and Waters Avenue in northwest Hillsborough. The $4.6-million park-and-ride hub has more than 90 parking spaces, eight blue-roofed pavilions and a 1,020-square-foot main building with restrooms, pay phones and vending machines. HART opened a similar transfer station in west Tampa in November.

While the facilities are new, HART's information about its riders isn't: The agency hasn't done onboard-passenger surveys since 2001. To remedy that, HART is spending $117,000 on another onboard survey.

For the 2001 survey, more than 10,000 riders were questioned. Among the findings: More women than men took public transportation, and 54 percent of riders were commuters.

Sisters Shay and Shatavia Kendrick met Monday afternoon at the Marion Transit Center in Tampa to take the Route 8 bus home to Palm River. Shatavia, 16, wakes at 5 a.m. to catch the Route 8, then takes another bus to Hillsborough High School.

"I sleep all the way," she said.

Shay Kendrick, 18, takes the Route 8 later in the day to get to work at Pita Pit on Howard Avenue. Shatavia started taking the bus only at the start of the school year, but Shay has relied on the bus for years to get around.

"It's cheaper, and it takes you to a place you really need to go in a short amount of time," Shay said.

She isn't the only one taking the bus to save money. The 2001 survey found that 11 percent of riders used the bus to save money on car or parking expenses. Nearly three-fourths took the bus because they didn't have a car.

Frank Cintron, a home remodeler, puts his bicycle on the rack, pays the fare and takes a seat. He wears headphones, and sometimes takes a nap during the 20-minute ride. The bus, he said, is convenient and less stressful than taking on traffic. Also, it would cost him $15 to drive his van, compared to $3.25 for an all-day bus pass.

Just before 9 a.m. the bus pulls into the Transit Center on Marion Street in downtown Tampa. Chiaramonte and a few other riders get off. The Route 30 driver pulls away to make another round trip. There is a schedule to keep.

Jared Leone can be reached at (813) 269-5314 or jleone@sptimes.com.

$710K refund: East Hillsborough losing county transit money. 5 • No car? No problem, says a Tampa resident who learns to love the bus. 4