HART: progress report shows service gaps and loss of a city-funded circulator pledge

Justin Willets of the Hillsborough Transit Authority briefed the TPO board on HART’s annual Transit Development Plan progress report and funding needs.

Willets said the TDP annual progress report documents accomplishments and identifies both funded and unfunded needs. Funded items include maintenance, some frequency improvements on routes 7, 9, 12 and 16, a route‑1 fare‑free pilot (City of Tampa support) and a Cat ABL project nearing implementation. Unfunded needs include restoring pre‑COVID service frequencies and capital purchases (Willets estimated roughly $20 million annually in operating support and $20 million in capital to return to pre‑pandemic levels).

Willets reported that a prior city commitment of $650,000 over three years for a downtown circulator pilot has been revoked by the City of Tampa and will likely be removed from HART’s TIP priority list. Board members discussed the financial implications; HART staff said the recently identified shortfall includes administrative cost allocations to the streetcar budget and that an annual funding gap for the streetcar was identified at about $1.3 million.

Willets said HART is conducting a comprehensive operations analysis and will return with recommendations for reallocating resources and refining priority corridors and on‑demand services.