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Funding Rolls In For New Bus

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco County's bus system recently received nearly $300,000 in federal funds to add a new vehicle to its aging fleet.

The money will go toward replacing a bus, rather than adding to the fleet, said Mike Carroll, director of Pasco County Public Transit. The agency operates bus routes in western Pasco and between Dade City and Zephyrhills.

The new bus will match the system's fleet, many of which "kneel" to allow easy access for wheelchairs and handicapped passengers, Carroll said.

The county's growing bus system was the focus of discussions Thursday morning when the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the county's transportation planning agency, met in Dade City. The MPO board includes all five county commissioners and elected officials from its four largest cities.

MPO members also reviewed plans for expanding the county's transit system during the next few years. That list includes:

•Adding a route through the Moon Lake community in western Pasco in 2010. The route was scheduled to start this year, but was delayed when county commissioners cut its funding during budget negotiations last year. The planned route will begin at U.S. 19 and State Road 52, go east to the Moon Lake community, then follow Ridge Road west to Little Road. The route will include a stop at Pasco-Hernando Community College.

•Adding a cross-county route between New Port Richey and Zephyrhills. The route will follow State Road 54 across the county. It will be anchored at the system's transfer station at U.S. 19 and Cross Bayou Boulevard on the west end and in central Zephyrhills at the east end. The route will include stops at Trinity Boulevard and at the HART commuter bus stop in Wesley Chapel.

•Expanding the system's evening hours in 2012. That change will add three hours to schedules, offering more transit options for shoppers and restaurant workers, said consultant Joel Rey, who helped draft the new transit plan.

Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who represents central Pasco, urged officials to expand transit to the Shops at Wiregrass, the open-air plaza scheduled to open Oct. 30 at State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Wesley Chapel.

At this point, the county has no plans to expand service to Shops at Wiregrass, but the owners of Wiregrass Ranch, which surrounds the plaza on the east and north, agreed to provide a park-and-ride area off Bruce B. Downs as part of their overall development plans. It's unclear when that park-and-ride lot might become available.

"We need to talk to Wiregrass about getting that park-and-ride in place," Mulieri said.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@ tampatrib.com.

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