By Matt Wiley
New Tampa commuters who utilize our area’s lone Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) bus route — Route 51X — should consider attending tonight’s formal public hearing at 5 p.m. at the New Tampa Regional Library (10001 Cross Creek Blvd.), as the route that connects Pasco County to downtown Tampa is scheduled to change this November.
Two community open-house meetings have been held so far, during which HART representatives revealed three revision options for the route that connects New Tampa and Wesley Chapel to downtown Tampa.
During the first meeting held on June 10 at the New Tampa Regional Library, the HART staff heard a mixed bag of opinions from 22 attendees regarding the three route change options. While some saw a possible change as good for the area, others saw the proposed options as a threat to their way to work. A second open-house meeting was held on June 17 at the New Tampa Rec Center off Commerce Park Blvd. in Tampa Palms, but that meeting was after our press time.
HART spokesperson Sandra Morrison says that some rider backlash is understandable. “People don’t like change,” Morrison says. “This meeting was dominated by current users (most of whom) find the current route meeting their needs.”
HART announced on June 5 that it would be proposing revisions to the New Tampa express route to adjust to ridership trends and improve its cost-efficiency.
Currently, the 51X route runs weekday mornings from 6 a.m.-8 a.m. at a Park-n-Ride stop at Victorious Life Church on Old Pasco Rd. in Wesley Chapel, before heading south and west on S.R. 54 to S.R. 56 and then cutting east along County Line Rd., where the buses pick up at CrossRoads Community United Methodist Church, opposite Grand Hampton. Route 51X then heads east towards Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and then heads south, making a stop at Lowe’s Home Improvement in Tampa Palms. The buses then take I-75 south to I-4 westbound, when they head south on I-275 to downtown Tampa to make three drop-offs. In the evenings, the buses make four pick-ups downtown and head north on I-275 to Bearss Ave. and then drop off at the three New Tampa/Wesley Chapel Park-n-Ride stops. HART reports that Route 51X averages about 67 riders per day, or about 17 passengers per bus ride.
Three alternative options (see page 14) are being considered for 51X. The first of those options continues the express service between Wesley Chapel and downtown but would add up to three stops along BBD. HART also would add hourly “midday” service (roughly 8 a.m.-4 p.m.) in between the express hours, between HART’s University Area Transit Center (UATC, off 131st Ave. in Tampa, north of the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital) and Wesley Chapel using BBD.
“We expect most will favor Option 1,” said Steve Feigenbaum, manager of service planning for HART, at the June 10 meeting. “It keeps the service similar to the current route. We’re trying to respect the riders who have been our patrons for years.”
Feigenbaum said that Option 1 also would lower the current monthly fare for Route 51X riders from $95 to $65.
The second option includes discontinuing the direct express service between Wesley Chapel and downtown Tampa in favor of continual hourly midday service (approximately 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.) between the UATC and Wesley Chapel along BBD, also with bus stops along the way. Patrons desiring to go downtown would have access to other services, including the new MetroRapid service, to get downtown.
The third option is almost identical to Option 2, but also adds service to the University of South Florida campus.
Reactions were varied at the June 19 meeting. “Option 1 is best, I think,” said Jerry, a West Meadows resident. “It’ll keep my wife happy, who rides the bus downtown each day.”
However, not everyone at the meeting shared Jerry’s opinion, as several HART riders voiced concerns and some outrage at the all of the revisions s, including Option 1.
“You can’t add stops without adding time,” said New Tampa resident and Hillsborough County employee Beth Derby, who rides the 51X downtown to work each morning. “We’re concerned mainly because we feel like they’re going to keep adding additional stops and changing the route. We won’t be able to get to work on time.”
Derby and fellow riders Rosa Timoteo and Michelle Linakis say that they have been using New Tampa’s HART service since 2005 and plan to help get the word out about the public hearing, in hopes that HART representatives will see that regular riders do not want the route to change.
“We’re the ones on the bus each day because it’s the only option,” Derby explains. “Even with the lowered fare, if you alienate us, where does that put (HART)?”
A public hearing about the possible Route 51X revisions is scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, 5 p.m. at the New Tampa Regional Library (10001 Cross Creek Blvd.). Comments can be submitted to 51XComment@GoHart.org.
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