Rapid bus from downtown to USF right for Tampa’s future | Editorial - Tampa Bay Times

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Driving from downtown Tampa to the University of South Florida is often a terrible commute. By bus, the 10.5 mile trip routinely takes the better part of an hour, especially as motorists clog the bottlenecks during the work week rush. That’s why the emerging plan for a new bus rapid transit link between two of the area’s major economic engines is so promising.

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, the county’s mass transit agency, recently unveiled new details of the proposed transit line. By using dedicated lanes, with fewer stops and quicker boardings, bus rapid transit systems provide faster-than-usual bus service between major destinations. HART staff said the USF line could cut travel times in half between downtown and the north Tampa campus.

For years, local transportation officials have envisioned a bus rapid transit system as a quick and convenient link between downtown St. Petersburg, downtown Tampa, USF, Tampa International Airport, the West Shore business district and other major destinations. The difference now is the momentum in getting these buses rolling. Pinellas County broke ground in August on the region’s first bus rapid transit line, connecting downtown St. Petersburg with the Pinellas beaches. Service is scheduled to begin in early 2022. Now Hillsborough seems open to rapid buses as a cheaper option to rail technology. Buses don’t take rail entirely out of the mix, but they are a viable alternative and a good step in modernizing the region’s mass transit system.

A slide from a Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority presentation shows the proposed route for a bus rapid transit line that would connect downtown Tampa and the University of South Florida. The buses would run in their own lane for about 70-percent of the trip, as shown by options on the right. [ Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority ]

As the Tampa Bay Times’ Caitlin Johnston reported, the buses would run from downtown Tampa on Florida and Nebraska avenues before heading to USF on Fowler Avenue. The buses would run in their own lane for about 70 percent of the trip, which is key to operating a premium service. The buses could maintain a steady speed by avoiding congestion, breakdowns and the other usual headaches in the regular travel lanes. The boarding stations along the route could also be magnets for development, as has happened in other cities with similar rapid bus systems.

Financing, of course, is key, though the bus systems don’t come with as many of the heavy costs and fixed infrastructure of installing rail. Construction estimates range between $95 million and $119 million, with operating expenses of about $3 million to $5 million per year. With Hillsborough’s newly enacted transportation surtax bottled up in court, the county is in a holding pattern, hoping the Florida Supreme Court dismisses the legal challenge, yet bracing for the fallout if the lawsuit succeeds.

HART’s governing board should continue the planning process. The comments by several board members last month bring a welcome dose of urgency and commitment to the proposal. The future of Tampa’s downtown and the university area are linked like never before. This is not only a way of making cross-town commutes more convenient and productive for residents every day. The new service would underpin billions of dollars in investment in downtown housing and commercial property, along with everything from research centers and the expanding AdventHealth campus in the university area’s rich medical environment. The project could be a model for other rapid service and for securing federal grant dollars for area transit projects.

HART has had its share of setbacks in recent months. But this could be a winner and a rallying point for an agency that must play a larger part in this growing region.

Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash, Editor of Editorials Graham Brink, and editorial writers Elizabeth Djinis, John Hill and Jim Verhulst. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news

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Rapid bus from downtown to USF right for Tampa’s future | Editorial - Tampa Bay Times
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