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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