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Downtown Tampa Trolley Fares Cut In Half

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By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 14, 2008

TAMPA - The cost to hop a downtown trolley soon will drop by half.

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit is cutting fares in an effort to get more people to take the yellow, rubber-wheeled vehicles.

The current fare is 50 cents, but HART board members voted Tuesday to trim fares to 25 cents. The change takes effect June 9.

HART expects a 20 percent boost in ridership over the next year, though the move will cause about a $3,500 loss in yearly fare collections.

Marketing Director Jill Cappadoro said the aim of the shuttles is to assist downtown residents, visitors and businesses. "It's such a low fare, we don't anticipate a significant impact on revenues."

The buses operate twice daily in the morning and afternoon, shuttling workers to parking lots. Last month, they gave 2,600 rides.

On Friday and Saturday nights, trolleys carry people from hotels and parking to the city's arts district, the Channel District and stops on the city's streetcar system. Those evening routes posted about 125 rides last month, Cappadoro said.

A 25-cent fare would make it "much more convenient to spontaneously ride the trolley," she said. Other cities, including Portland, Ore., offer free or reduced-fare districts as a way to entice people to park their cars and take public transit.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at rshopes@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7633.

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