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They Say The Price Is Right

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 10:31 AM

John Payne, here at the University Area Transfer Center, has lived in bigger cities and says bus services there are superb. Though there aren’t enough buses to put Tampa’s transit in the “superb” category, HART does a great job of getting him where he wants to go.

Mainly, that’s to work, he says.

He just sold his car, so he’s relying on buses to get him around. He says the price is right. Every day he has to travel, he buys the daily pass for $3.50 and can go wherever he wants. He says he has noticed bus business increasing since gasoline prices have spiked.

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‘I Rely On The Bus’

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 10:30 AM

Yep, we’re still at the University Area Transfer Center.

And Debra Catlett has this to say: “I used to live in Chicago and rode the bus there all the time. They called it the CTA - Chicago Transit Authority.”

Now she’s all about HART.

I live in Carrollwood and work in a nursing home there,” she says. She’s here this morning, about 10 a.m., for a doctor’s appointment. Her preferred method of travel is, of course, the bus.

“I’ve been here for four years, and that’s how long I’ve been riding these buses,” she says a few minutes before boarding her ride.

“I rely on the bus,” she says.

Her only complaint: Younger people who ride the bus who don’t treat older people with respect.

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‘And I Don’t Have To Pay Insurance, Either’

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 10:20 AM

We’re still at the University Area Transfer Center.

Judy Wiesenberg works at the University of South Florida and takes the HART bus every day from her home near 22nd Street and Bearss Avenue.

“Mainly,” she says, “it’s convenient. Even if I had a car, I’d still ride a bus, because of the gas prices. And I don’t have to pay insurance, either.”

She’s been a regular user for a couple of years and now uses HART to get everywhere.

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$3.50 A Day Gets Her There And Back And Forth

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 12:16 PM

We’re at the University Area Transfer Center, and Linda Grooms has it figured out. The HART bus schedule, that is.

“I take the Number 12 from Fletcher at 8 o’clock in the morning to come here and then catch the Number 6 to USF,” she says. “Or I take the Bull [the University of South Florida bus] onto campus.”

She works at USF and takes the bus every day to and from work.

And to and from doctors’ appointments.

And just about everywhere else she goes.

“I don’t have a car,” she says just before 10 a.m. today. “I got into three wrecks and am afraid of driving. Plus, gas is so high, it does me no good to have a car.”

She pays $3.50 every day, and that gives her a pass to go wherever she wants.

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Ybor City’s In The Rearview Mirror

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 09:21 AM

We’re in Ybor City. Bus 12 is heading north through East Tampa and will end its route at the University Area Transit Center. Just a couple of riders are here, starting out from the Marion Street Transit center.

There are several stops along the way, winding through Ybor City to Nuccio Parkway and, eventually, north on 22nd Street.

Adriana Williams is sleepy-eyed. She’s heading home after working the night shift at Howard Johnson.

“Housekeeping,” she says.

At 8:45 a.m., the 18-year-old Belmont Heights resident is eager to get some rest.

She doesn’t take the bus to save money.

“I don’t know how to drive,” she says with a giggle. She takes the bus every day because that’s the only way she can get to and from work.

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