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‘It’s A Nice Ride In’

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 08:59 AM

I’m downtown now with New Tampa denizen Paul D’Aurora, who began using the HART commuter bus from Crossroads Community Church about two years ago. He started before gasoline prices skyrocketed.

The gas price jump two years ago, as modest as it was compared with the price of gasoline today, got him going. He was ahead of his time. “Gas prices were a big motivating factor,” he says. “That and the wear and tear on the car.”

The increase in HART business almost corresponds to gasoline prices, says HART spokeswoman Kathy Karalekas

But looking at the numbers, she says, “we did see last year, last spring, when gas started spiking, we did start breaking monthly riding records. We broke records three times within the past year.”

Daily commuters are a big part of the bus business, she says.

D’Aurora is talkative and knows just about everyone at his stop. He has forged bus buddy friendships with them.

“It’s a nice ride in,” he says. “Plus, we all get to know each other.”

Nancy Steinberg, also of New Tampa, sits across from D’Aurora. She works at the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office and says she was one of the first to hop on the bus two years ago when HART first offered the express commuter line.

“I’m one of the originals,” she says.

She decided to let someone else do the driving because of traffic headaches on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Interstate 275.

“This is a stress-free ride,” she says.

“Plus,” she says, “the costs of gas and parking are tremendous. This saves a lot.”

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HART En Route To Logging 12 Million Rides This Year

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 09:00 AM

We’re in downtown Tampa, a bus stop at Jackson Street and HART Transit Parkway.

The sun has risen, and all the commuters from the Quail Hollow and Wesley Chapel commuter HART bus have gotten off and are walking to their respective jobs.

Some tote satchels with laptops in them; others drag briefcases on wheels.

Natalia Cerrito just packed up her laptop on the bus. “I’m taking a break,” she announced earlier, a few minutes before the bus stopped. She says the main reason she takes the bus is money.

“I would pay $400 a month in gas or parking fees,” she said. “So I’m saving a good amount.”

She takes the bus to work every day.

“I like it.”

Riders such as Cerrito and Nell Penny say the commuter buses are a godsend for people living in the suburbs and working downtown.

“I tell everybody,” Penny says. “Before, I thought the bus was for people who didn’t have cars or were strapped for cash.”

When she moved to Wesley Chapel recently, she drove to her job downtown for about three days.

“It was an hour-and-a-half trip, and I tried all different routes,” she says. “I was frustrated.” She started taking the bus and has never looked back.

HART spokeswoman Kathy Karalekas says that last year’s ridership broke a record set in 2006, which broke the record set the year before that.

“We’ve broken the record for every year for the past three years,” she said, “and we’re on track to reach 12 million rides this year.”

The increase could be due to other factors as well. Tweaking the bus schedule, adding night and weekend and express routes, brings in business, she says. The high gas prices add to the bus business, she says.

Says Penny: “I fill up my car once every two weeks. If I drove to work, I would be filling it up every four days.”

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‘You Get To Meet People, Work, Sleep’

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 09:00 AM

We’re On Interstate 75, pulling onto Interstate 4. It’s 7:20 a.m., and the bus is right on schedule.

Ella Chinea of Wesley Chapel is talkative. She says she takes the bus for one main reason. The price of gasoline.

“I’ve been taking the bus for about a year now,” she says. “I have more money to go to McDonald’s.”

And there’s one more reason.

“I get to talk to my friends.”

Everyone who gets on at the Crossroads Community Church stop on County Line Road is chummy.

Nell Penny sits with Chinea. The two have a good commuter friendship.

Both work downtown and walk to work from the downtown bus stop.

“I take the bus for the convenience,” she says. “You get to meet people, work, sleep.”

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Ridership Is Up, And So Are Passengers’ Spirits

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 09:00 AM

We’re on Interstate 75 at Fletcher Avenue.  It’s just after 7 a.m., and the passengers on Bus 2504 are happy. It’s Friday; they don’t have to mess with traffic or worry about gasoline prices. Or parking fees.

Most say they like the bus ride. Some read; others are on laptops starting their workday.

Janet Stephenson is a secretary who works in downtown Tampa. She takes the bus from Wesley Chapel two to three days a week.

“I’ve been taking the bus off and on for about five years,” she says. She started taking the bus to work on a regular basis in February.

Gas prices, parking costs and convenience are the reasons. She is not alone.

HART spokeswoman Kathy Karalekas says she can’t say just why bus business is blossoming, but the increased gasoline prices could be a reason.

She says ridership in April was 8.5 percent higher than for April 2007. So far this year, ridership is 7.4 percent higher than for the same period last year.

The price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in the Bay area reached the $3.50 mark in April.

Stephenson has another reason for taking the bus.

“I’m a tree hugger,” she says. “The fewer people in their cars, the less pollution.”

She cracks a book as the bus approaches I-4.

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‘I Bring Them In, And I Bring Them Home’

Posted May 9, 2008 by Keith Morelli

Updated May 9, 2008 at 09:01 AM

Bus driver Angel Rivera shows up about 15 minutes early, about 6:10 a.m., at the first stop of his express run from central Pasco County into downtown Tampa. The 47-year-old former school bus driver began driving HART buses eight years ago. He says he likes the long rides with few stops.

He usually picks up about 10 passengers, but on this Friday, only a reporter and photographer are onboard.

On Thursdays and Fridays, he takes his passengers to work downtown. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he goes the opposite direction.

I bring them in, and I bring them home,” he says.

Precisely at 6:27 a.m., he announces to us that he is leaving. He has other stops to make.

“It’s a good trip,” he says. “I like the nice long trips with just a few stops.”

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