TAMPA BAY APPLICATIONS GROUP

An Open Forum for Transportation-Related Issues

May/June 2007

In This Issue:

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“FROM THE CHAIR”By: Michael Dorweiler, AICP

2007 Chairman for the Tampa Bay Applications Group

The Tampa Bay Applications Group has moved into this new hot and smoky weather with a HOT training course for the upcoming Tampa Bay Regional Planning Model (TBRPM) v 6.0 in Cube Voyager. The May 17, 2007 TBAG meeting was rescheduled as training in June in order to accommodate more FSUTMS users. Please take a moment to contact

Kasey Cursey at kcursey@gfnet.com if you are interested in attending. Space is limited.

We had an exciting multi-modal line-up of speakers in February 2007. This meeting focused on multi-modal projects underway

outside of FDOT, District 7. Our fi rst topic, Making Tracks with the Central Florida Commuter Rail Project, was presented by Marianne Gurnee, Public Liaison to the Central Florida Commuter

Rail Project. A multi-jurisdictional commuter rail study underway for FDOT, District 5. Our second topic, Moving Forward with the South Florida East Coast Corridor (SFECC) Study, was presented by Scott Seeburger, FDOT, District 4, Planning and Environmental Management. The FDOT, District 4, is managing this Study, which is looking at the eighty-fi ve mile industrial railroad corridor in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties for implementing fi xed-guideway transit services. Our third topic was the development of the Miami Intermodal Center, presented by Adolfo Fassrainer, FDOT, District 6, MIC Work Program Administrator. The FDOT, District 6, in partnership with several government agencies, is developing the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), a transportation hub located across from the Miami International Airport (MIA) with a scheduled completion in Year 2011.

I would like to take a moment to thank our three speakers for a fantastic job and supporting TBAG by traveling across the State to present to our group.

In keeping with the multi-modal theme, this issue of the TBAG newsletter is dedicated to our own transit providers in District Seven. New and exciting services are being

introduced and our own local transit agencies are working every day to improve multi-modal service to our communities. Highlights of service, Web site

information and facts and fi gures are presented on the next pages for each transit agency.

Check out their services and GO RIDE A BUS!

ATTENTIONTAMPA BAY REGIONAL PLANNING MODEL (TBRPM V 6.0) IN CUBE VOYAGER

June 6, 2007 or June 21, 2007

Registration on Page 6

PCPT Updated

Information as of June

2007

Missed the deadline to register? Contact Kasey Cursey for last-minute registration.

Hillsborough Area Regional TransitHillsborough County, FL

Plan Your Trip

Thanks to HART’s partnership with online giant Google™, all you need to plan your trip is a computer. Just go to HART’s Web site, www.hartline.org, and click on the “Plan Your Trip” link on the home page. From there, you’ll be directed to Google Transit, a free service that gives you exact details to help take the uncertainty out of using transit.

To date, HART is one of only ten public transportation agencies in the United States Google has chosen to participate in its online trip planning feature. HART does not pay Google for the service.

HARTfl ex Introduced

This June, HART will introduce HARTfl ex; smaller vehicles to circulate in specifi c neighborhoods to connect customers to HART bus service. Carrollwood is one of the areas that will contain a HARTfl ex zone.

HARTfl ex geographic zones within the Brandon, Seffner, Carrollwood, Temple Terrace and Town N’ Country areas are currently in development to kick off this service.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)Video cameras will begin to appear on HART buses in 2007, followed by Global Positioning Systems to provide real time information about the location of every HART bus. Advantage: Better on-time performance and fewer claims.

Facts & Figures

Web site: www.hartline.org

Continued Ridership Growth

Another Record: 10,697,000 passenger trips – Up 6.5% from 2005!

Wheelchair Patron Boardings Up: Almost 4,000 times per month HART buses are boarded by a person using a wheelchair

Later Evening Service Introduced

Over 30 New Bus Shelters Installed

New South County Bus Service Introduced

Routes: 35LX and 47LX provide new service to the Sun City Center/Wimauma area

Fleet & Routes

Buses: 194 Vans: 24

Routes: 48 bus routes throughout unincorporated Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa and the City of Temple Terrace

Commuter Express

Routes: 12 new buses, a number of which are equipped with WiFi access

TECO Line Streetcar System

Route: 2.4-mile route from historic Ybor City to downtown Tampa

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Pinellas Suncoast Transit AuthorityPinellas County, FL

History

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), formerly known as Central Pinellas Transit Authority (CPTA), was created by state legislation in 1970. Today, PSTA serves most of the unincorporated area and 21 of the County’s 24 municipalities.

New Trip Planner

The new Trip Planner, Rollin, came on line and provides 24-hour a day customer service information in English, Spanish, French & German. Check out our PSTA Web site for more details.

Best Wishes Roger Sweeney

Mr. Sweeney will be retiring July, 1, 2007. He has been integral to many of PSTA’s improvements, including these advancements:

An advanced Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system using GPS technology for real time tracking of PSTA’s entire fl eet

Electronic fareboxes and the use of magnetically encoded fare cards

Multi-camera on-board video surveillance systems

An extremely popular, cutting edge Web site

A new, state-of-the-art PSTA headquarters and maintenance complex that came in under budget

Suncoast Beach TrolleySM

Hop on the Suncoast Beach TrolleySM and you can explore all of the unique beach communities from Clearwater Beach to Pass-A-Grille. The trolley runs every 20-30 minutes and is wheelchair accessible. It’s the fun, easy, and affordable way to do and see everything you want on the beach.

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Facts & Figures

Web site: www.psta.net

Fleet & Routes

Buses: 181

Trolleys: 16

Routes: 43, including 2 express routes to Hillsborough County

Bus Stops: 5,735

Shelters: 565

Continued Ridership Growth

Ridership: 11.4 million annually; 39,000 daily

Bikes on Buses

Trips: 234,000 annually; PSTA leads the state in bringing bikes on buses.

Paratransit Trips

258,710 annually; 800 daily

Operating Costs and Funding

Annual Total Operating Budget: $55.8 million

Funding: Federal and State grants (11%), passenger fares (18%), advertising and miscellaneous revenues (4%), and Ad Valorem taxes (67%)

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Pasco County Public TransportationPasco County, FL

PCPT Announces New Saturday and Extended Service Hours!

Fixed-route transit buses operate throughout West Pasco, Dade City and Zephyrhills. Getting there can now be just a matter of deciding when and where to go thanks to the new service hours offered by PCPT. PCPT now offers Saturday service hours and extended service hours on several of the existing routes.

PCPT Announces Service Adjustment to Three West Pasco Routes

Three West Pasco transit routes changed as a result of moving the transfer station further north from Southgate Plaza on U.S. Highway 19 to Cross Bayou Boulevard, adjacent to the Kmart parking lot. Routes impacted were 14, 18, and 19. Maps and schedules can be viewed online at the PCPT Web site, www.ridepcpt.com under “See What’s New” or “Bus Schedules.” For more information, or to obtain copies of schedules, call or visit PCPT at 8620 Galen Wilson Boulevard, Port Richey, FL, 34668, (727) 834-3322.

Emergency Ride Home Program

If you use a commute option (instead of driving alone) to work at least two days per week you qualify to join the Emergency Ride Home (ERH) Program! The ERH Program provides you with up to eight free taxi rides home each year in case of personal illness, family emergency or unexpected overtime.

Facts & Figures

Web site: www.ridepcpt.com

Routes & Ridership

Buses: 16

Routes: Six transit routes serve West Pasco County, including New Port Richey and Port Richey. Two of the West Pasco routes also go into Pinellas County.

Three transit routes serve East Pasco County, including Dade City, San Antonio, St. Leo, and Zephyrhills.

Ridership: PCPT completed 860,645 transit passenger trips in FY 06 – an increase of 16 % over FY 05, and is on pace to exceed 950,000 transit passenger trips for FY 07 – a projected 10.5% increase over FY 06

Bikes on Buses

Boarded 20,037 bikes on buses for Oct 06 – May 07. In FY 06, there were 16,072 bikes loaded onto buses.

Fees: There is no charge for the service and no permit is required

Fares

One Way Pass: $ .50

Daily Pass: $1.50

Monthly Pass: $15.00

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The Hernando Express Bus (THE Bus)Hernando County, FL

Recent Events

To better serve the community, and in order to provide a more effi cient and safe service, THE Bus discontinued its “fl ag-down” service in favor of established bus stops, at specifi ed locations along the routes. The bus stop signs for the new bus-stop system clearly communicate where THE Bus can safely be accessed by bus patrons.

In addition to moving to a bus stop system, THE Bus and THE Bus ADA Complementary Service changed its fare structure. As of April 1, regular one-way bus fare is one-dollar, and reduced one-way fare is fi fty cents. The cost of daily and monthly passes will remain the same. THE Bus ADA Complementary Service also had changes to its fare structure. An ADA one-way trip is now two-dollars. The change in the fare structure is the fi rst since 2002.

THE Bus continues outreach through several media, guest speaking at various organizations and events, including Newcomer’s Reception, Hernando County Fair, Low- Vision Awareness Day, Week of the Young Child, THE Bus 2007 Student Poster Contest, and various other community events.

Bike Permits No Longer Necessary

All of the buses are equipped with a bike rack, which is located on the front of THE Bus. Riders are responsible for properly loading and unloading their bicycle, and do so at their own risk.

Facts & Figures

Web site: www.hernandobus.com

Fleet

Buses: 8

Routes

Spring Hill: Route 1 - Red

Spring Hill: Route 2 - Blue

Brooksville: Route 3 - Purple

Brooksville Shuttle to Spring Hil: Route 4 - Green

Hours of operation: Monday through Friday (excluding weekday holidays)

Ridership

Fixed-Route and ADA Trips: 170,000 annually

Need Trip Planning Assistance

If you would like additional assistance in planning your trip, call (352) 754-4444, Monday through Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. One of our friendly operators will be happy to help you with your next bus ride.

Bus Fares

One-Way Trips: $1.00

Daily Passes: $1.50

Monthly Passes: $15.00

Children Under 6 Years (When accompanied by a paying adult): Free

THE Bus ADA Eligible: Free

Trans-Hernado Para-Transit Van: $2.00

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Tampa Bay Regional Planning Model (TBRPM v 6.0) in Cube Voyager

June 6, 2007 or June 21, 2007

Sponsored by Florida Department of Transportation, District 7 and conducted by Gannett Fleming, Inc.

Description: This is a one-day training designed to provide an overview of TBRPM v 6.0 within the Cube Voyager environment. The training is FREE and open to all interested parties.

Dates: June 6, 2007 or June 21, 2007

Times: Registration 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (Light refreshments) Morning Training: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Lunch on Your Own Afternoon Training: 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Light refreshments)

Location: St. Petersburg College, Seminole Campus, 9200 113th Street North, Seminole, Florida 33772. University Partnership Center, Third Floor, Room UPC 303 (Hospitality Suite). Directions to the campus are provided on the Web site: www.spjc.edu/se/how_do_i/fi nd_the_campus.

Parking: Parking is free and a parking lot is adjacent to the University Partnership Center.

Contact: Kasey Cursey, Gannett Fleming, Inc. at kcursey@gfnet.com with any questions about the training.

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 with fi nal confi rmation via e-mail by Thursday, May 31, 2007.

Registration: Two dates are being offered, however seating is limited. Public agencies will be given fi rst preference.

Mark your fi rst choice with a 1 and your second choice with a 2.

_____ June 6, 2007 Training ______ June 21, 2007 Training

Name: ________________________________________________________________________

Agency: _______________________________________________________________________

Job Title: ______________________________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________________

City: _____________________________________ State:__________ Zip: _______________

Telephone Number: ____________________________________________________________

E-mail: ________________________________________________________________________

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Co-editor: Kasey Cursey Gannett Fleming, Inc. 9119 Corporate Lake Drive • Suite 150 Tampa, FL 33634 (813) 882-4366 • Fax (813) 884-4609 kcursey@aol.com

Co-editor: Michael Dorweiler PBS&J5300 West Cypress Street • Suite 200Tampa, FL 33607 (813) 282-7275 mjdorweiler@pbsj.com

FDOT - District Seven Modal Planning & Development 11201 North McKinley Drive Tampa, FL 33612

The Tampa Bay Applications Group Newsletter is published under contract to the FDOT District Seven Planning Offi ce in Tampa. FSUTMS users and TBAG members contribute all information and material contained in the newsletter. Please contact the editors to submit articles for future issues or to get on the mailing list.

Missed the

registration deadline?

Contact Kasey

Cursey for more

information.