Hillsborough Area Regional Transit has 3,200 bus stops and 681 shelters around Hillsborough County, and over the last two years, the organization has been inspecting each one, looking for ways to spruce them up and make them more accessible to riders.
HART’s Bus Stop Improvement Program does a number of things, but primarily wants to ensure that stops are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a release, for those in wheelchairs or any other kind of mobility device. The organization chooses stops to improve based on ridership activity and demand, proximity to other nearby covered stops, adequate right-of-way opportunities to sell advertisements, and planned neighborhood improvements.
The project also provides riders with enhanced passenger amenities such as bus bays, new sidewalks and shelters to help protect customers from rain and sunshine. These shelters are lit by solar power, which return the cost of investment through energy savings and less maintenance, while at the same time reducing the carbon footprint.
HART, in the last two years, has nearly tripled the number of covered stops from one shelter every 15 stops to one shelter for every five stops.
The program is supported by federal funding as well as local impact fees, HART said. In addition, the program is driven by advertisers like Signal Outdoor, which helps offset shelter costs. Signal Outdoor pays for shelters and their maintenance in exchange for shared advertising revenue.
HART also engages with private developers, local government and the Florida Department of Transportation for opportunities to obtain land easements or offset construction costs.
