HART is investing in the future with distinctive looking MV-1 vehicles, which look like a cross between a boxy hybrid SUV and a minivan. There are a number of smart, budget-conscious, customer-centric reasons to transition to the MV-1:

• Savings and comfort! The MV-1 costs less, has better fuel economy, and is more comfortable
• A pioneer, the MV-1 is the first minivan designed from the ground up as an Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliant vehicle, as opposed to retrofitting a family minivan as in the past 
• Roomy yet compact, the MV-1 seats up to three adults or one adult and one patron in a full-size wheelchair and features a large side-door opening and a heavy-duty factory-equipped access ramp that stows under the vehicle floor   
• Designed with flexibility in mind, the interior comfortably accommodates a variety of assisted mobility devices, including large electric wheelchairs
• Safety! The MV-1 has been engineered to maintain its crash test ratings in use, unlike most retrofitted minivans
• Better service! HART plans to roll out a fleet of 13 new MV-1 paratransit minivans this month - Nine are replacements for the larger heavy duty diesel vans and four expansion minivans to meet the increased demand for paratransit services
• Cutting costs! HART saved $1 million dollars in capital costs by purchasing the smaller vans over the larger vans and will continue to save annual operating costs from the improved gas mileage
• Meeting future needs - U.S. Census data indicates that 14 million Americans are currently dealing with serious mobility issues with more than four million relying on a wheelchair every day - this trend will continue to grow exponentially as the baby boomer generation began to turn 65 in 2011  

In March, Hillsborough Rides profiled Connect Tampa Bay, a grassroots transit advocacy organization.  This issue, we highlight another group with a distinctly different take on transit, adding its voice to the ongoing dialogue about our transportation alternatives.  The MPO welcomes constructive suggestions from all individuals or groups.

Citizens Organized for Sound Transportation (COST) has emerged as a grassroots organization advocating cost-effective, fiscally sound long term transportation solutions for the Tampa Bay region.  Founded by a staunch rail transit critic, Sharon Calvert, COST believes in innovative private transportation and flexible rubber-tired modes such as Bus Rapid Transit. Recognizing that the debate about transportation alternatives is heating up, Calvert says, "COST just wants to be in the conversation.  We want to get people engaged, and make sure they have all the information."  

COST advocates ways to make transportation function more efficiently, like coordinated traffic signals, "Next Bus Arrival" passenger information, Zipcars, telecommuting, and even technological innovations enabling cars to drive themselves. The group points to managed lanes operating today in Southeast Florida and wants to see such specially designated managed lanes for buses, carpools and individual drivers willing to pay a toll implemented here. COST believes the ultimate measure of success of a new transportation system is if it takes cars off the road, easing congestion and benefitting a large number of people.

Expressing skepticism about rail transit, COST questions ridership forecasts, cost estimates, long lead times required to develop rail, and the risk to taxpayers. In Calvert's view, costly rail systems have depleted resources that could have been used for less expensive bus systems.  "We are concerned about the transit-dependent," she says. Even transit-oriented development raises questions. Regarding development around station areas, Calvert asks, "Is it mobility or economic development that we're after?" In her view, "Dispersed development patterns aren't all bad," pointing out that many people prefer suburban living. In terms of paying for transportation, Calvert acknowledges, "We don't have all the answers," but says that COST leans towards user and mobility fees. She adds, "The funding has to come from somewhere" to address deficient roads and safety problems.

Regardless of the funding source, COST expects transparent decision-making and accountability. This is one point on which we can all agree. 

A working group consisting of HART technical, operations,  and marketing staff as well and regional representatives from Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), Polk County Transit Services, and the Lakeland Area Mass Transit District (Citrus Connection) has been formed with the goals of:

1. Understanding the current market for both the fare box technology and the technological abilities of our ridership demographic
2. Crafting a requirements document 
3. Crafting a scope of work understanding that it could be used in a future procurement and solicitation

The focus of this working group will be to review the opportunities, technology and funding options for fare box replacement throughout the respective fleets. The majority of HART's current fare boxes are over 26 years old and only accept cash, coin and HART fare card with no ability to expand that capability to any other type of fare medium such as smartcards, credit or debit cards, or other agency passes. 

The regional approach lends itself to the new focus of federal funding approvals for initiatives that take into consideration the regional nature of transit. Aside from funding, the other aspect of this approach would be the ability for all of our patrons to seamlessly ride from one transit system to another using the same fare medium, improving connectivity within the region. 

All Aboard Florida, a privately funded $1 billion passenger railroad project that would connect Orlando to Miami, and possibly Tampa, named onetime Disney executive Donald Robinson co-president and chief operating officer.

A wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Coral Gables-based Florida East Coast Industries, All Aboard Florida also promoted executive P. Michael Reininger to president and chief development officer, according to a release. Reininger joined All Aboard Florida in 2012.

Robinson will focus on developing the operational functions for the project, the release states, while, Reininger will work on rail infrastructure, stations, and transit-oriented real estate development. The executives, the company says, will jointly define All Aboard Florida's brand and customer experience.

Robinson previously ran hotel operations for Walt Disney World, which encompassed 16 hotels and more than 400 retail and dining facilities. He also led the openings and development of Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland, according to the release. Reininger also worked for the Disney Co., in addition to senior management roles with MGM Resorts International and The St. Joe Co.

The All Aboard Florida project, according to Florida East Coast executives, has no plans to seek public funding for any phase of the project, from construction to future maintenance. The past few large-scale rail service projects in the state have failed to get traction, in part because the proposals included taxpayer-funded elements.

The service will initially use 200 miles of track between Cocoa and Miami that Florida East Coast already owns. The company says it will build 40 miles of new track to connect Cocoa to Orlando. The firm hopes to eventually extend the Orlando tracks northeast, to Jacksonville, and west, to Tampa. Florida East Coast officials say the project could create 6,000 construction jobs, and another 1,000 jobs to operate the system.

Article courtesy of Business Observer.

How bad our traffic was on Friday, February 17, 2012?  According to TomTom, it was worst day last year in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area.

How do they know? TomTom is a major maker of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices.  Over the past six years, they have captured over six trillion anonymous speed measurements from customers all over the world. From these measurements, TomTom developed a congestion index or traffic "barometer" for cities around the world.  The index compares travel times during non-congested "free flow" periods with travel times during peak hours.  The difference is expressed as a percentage increase in travel time.

So how does Tampa Bay stack up?  According to TomTom:

• Our congestion index is 22%, ranking us 12th out of 59 North American cities
• The average is 18% for North America, ranging from 33% (LA) to 10% (Kansas City)
• Internationally, Moscow has the dubious honor of earning TomTom's highest congestion index at 66%!
• Our congestion index rose from 20% to 22% between 2011 and 2012, putting us in the top 3 cities for fastest increasing congestion, behind Houston and Seattle
• At 28%, our congestion index is worse on "non-highway" major, secondary and connecting roads; and for highways, our congestion index is 11%
• Our worst time of the week for commuting is Thursday PM; the best time is Friday AM
• Our worst time of day, by far, is the PM peak, when our congestion index soars to 54%

Other researchers produce similar reports. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute, for example, published the 2012 Urban Mobility Report, which calculated our Travel Time Index at 1.20, or 27th out of 101 U.S. cities.

The MPO continues to tackle traffic congestion with plans that include Intelligent Transportation Systems to smooth traffic flow and reduce delays due to crashes, diversifying modes of travel, and adding capacity where necessary.

For more information, visit the  TomTom Congestion Index and the  Texas A&M Annual Urban Mobility Report.

Ridership on buses, subways and other modes of public transportation in the USA rose 1.5% to 10.5 billion trips last year, the highest annual total since 2008, according to a new report. Although Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath slowed ridership on some of the nation's largest transit systems, at least 16 systems reported record ridership numbers in 2012, says the American Public Transportation Association.