TAMPA, Fla. (August 10, 2010) - The Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority (THEA), in partnership with Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), has been awarded
an $800,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The grant funds allow THEA and HART to
conduct a study assessing the benefits and costs of a Bus Toll Lane (BTL)
Network in the Tampa
region as a possible solution to relieve roadway congestion.
"Over
the past 15 years, the Tampa
Bay region has grown by
30 percent, which has caused substantial increases in traffic congestion on our
roadways," said Sue Chrzan, THEA communications manager. "A network of bus toll lanes throughout the
region could help relieve future congestion, and the grant allows us to
research this possibility."
The
goal of the BTL concept is to optimize service for transit customers while
generating a new and sustainable source of revenue for transit agencies. The
concept provides our transportation customers with choices. BTL is a highway-based transit solution that creates
dedicated lanes for public buses and allows use by other vehicles for a
toll. Traffic is kept moving by using price-management,
which allows toll costs for non-transit users to increase or decrease based on
the flow of traffic in the lane to prevent traffic congestion. The key difference between BTLs and other
managed-lane approaches is a pricing strategy that will put public-transit
first to assure transit users get the best service for the lowest price, and
offer the transit agency a strong future revenue source. The study will
identify a sample set of corridors where BTL may be implemented and also
provide initial estimates of the social and economic benefits of the program.
About the Hillsborough Area
Regional Transit Authority
The
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is a public transit
provider in Hillsborough County dedicated to
providing excellent customer service while building solutions to support
Hillsborough County's needs now and into the future. HART operates express routes with service to
adjacent counties in the state. During Fiscal
Year 2009, HART transported more than 11.6 million bus passengers.
About the Tampa
Hillsborough County Expressway Authority
The Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway
Authority (THEA) is a user-financed public agency led by a Board of local
citizens. Operating with no tax dollars,
the Authority develops and owns toll highways in the City of Tampa and
Hillsborough County. All tolls collected
by THEA are reinvested back into projects in Hillsborough County.
The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway is the
Authority's primary community asset. The
Selmon Expressway is a 15-mile, limited-access highway linking the suburb of
Brandon in eastern Hillsborough County to Gandy Boulevard in southwest Tampa. The Selmon Expressway is an essential commuter
route to downtown Tampa, the Westshore business district and MacDill Air Force
Base with local access to Hyde Park, south Tampa, the Port of Tampa and the
commercial and industrial enterprises to the east along State Road 60. For more information, please visit THEA's website
at www.SelmonExpressway.com.
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