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HART Plans To Order New Buses With Stimulus Funds

Tribune file photo by LAURA KINSLER

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit plans to use some of its federal stimulus money to purchase and refurbish buses.

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By RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 24, 2009

Updated: 02/24/2009 01:04 pm

TAMPA - Bus riders will get a smoother ride next year thanks to millions in federal stimulus funds.

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit is poised to get $15.1 million and says it will use some of the cash to buy 29 buses and refurbish 124 others.

If approved Monday by its governing board, HART will order the buses right away to take delivery next year. The agency also plans to install shelters and benches at more stops and fix up its maintenance yard on 21st Avenue.

"What this really does is give us a lot more options. We were facing some pretty tough deficits in terms of shortfalls in our capital funding," HART executive director David Armijo said.

Successive funding shortages pushed HART's bus rotation schedule two years behind, also triggering higher operational costs.

Buses typically have a 500,000-mile lifespan. Exceeding that can cause maintenance and fuel expenses to increase because older buses are more prone to breakdowns and less efficient than new vehicles.

The buses will be introduced across HART's service area.

Riders will notice immediate differences. For one thing, the vehicles will be lower to the ground to make it easier to board for people in wheelchairs or pushing strollers. They'll also have more seat padding and improved suspensions for a smoother ride.

"We anticipate a 10 to 15 percent increase in fuel economy," maintenance chief Philip Hale said.

In a separate move, HART last August ordered 28 buses to replace some vehicles. Those will arrive this fall. Between the two orders, "this will get us up to date," Armijo said.

HART ridership has grown on average 7 percent a year over the past five years. The agency projects it will expand its fleet from 234 buses to 400 buses, or by 71 percent, in the next 10 years.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633.

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