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HART bus ridership increased by 19 percent in February 2011 compared to the same month last year.
Bus ridership in February 2011 was 1,138,046 and February 2010 was 958,515.
In addition, the IM4Transit campaign of the Florida Public Transportation Association today announced that HART rider Maria Melaragno of Tampa is winner of the monthly drawing for a 42-inch HDTV donated by the business community.
"Taking the bus to work makes my whole day better. When I drive alone, it's just me and irritating traffic," Melaragno said.
"When I take the bus, I get to say hello to my neighbors at the bus stop. While riding, I simply relax, read or chat with my friends on the bus. It's just a much more pleasant start of the business day. Riding the bus saves money, it's green and it makes me feel good not to buy so much gasoline." As a certified professional planner, Melaragno knows that fixed-route public transportation creates jobs and is a catalyst for economic development.
"Maria is an example of the growing number of passengers who value the convenience and benefits of public transit," said David Armijo, CEO of HART. "During the past few years, HART has implemented improvements to its service -- such as more late-night service, more shelters and improved frequency of buses -- to provide a better product to customers. Our growth in ridership is in response to these improvements."
For more information about IM4Transit, visit www.IM4Transit.org
For more information about HART, including help with planning trips using Google Trip Planner, visit www.goHART.org
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