U-TURN AHEAD

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, the county's transit agency, is proposing sweeping service cuts this summer and fall to cope with a projected $3 million loss in property tax revenue next year.

The changes, expected to be voted on by HART's board in June, would go into effect in July and November and eliminate or alter 25 bus routes.

Even with the changes, HART must identify additional savings of about $1 million.

HART spokeswoman Kathy Karalekas said to reduce expenses, the agency eliminated six salaried managers a few weeks ago, including its marketing, human resources and operations chiefs, but it's still looking for additional savings heading into the 2010 fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

The agency's staff is meeting with riders this week, and pamphlets describing the changes will be available on buses. Several public meetings are scheduled.

One is set for today at the Town 'N Country Regional Library, another is Wednesday at the Marion Transit Center.

Karalekas said the agency is not mulling service cuts beyond what is proposed for July and November and has no plans to lay off bus drivers. She noted, however, that HART's staff is reviewing the budget in search of further savings.

Only one route, the Route 88 Town 'N Country Connector, would be stricken completely.

The remaining changes range from curtailing hours and eliminating early or late-night pickups to streamlining connections between buses and reconfiguring routes to allow service in some areas while dropping it from others.

For example, weekend service on the Route 8 (Progress Village/Brandon) would be eliminated and the final weekday trip capped at 9 p.m. instead of at midnight.

Route 33, which operates on Fletcher Avenue, would merge with Route 83, also known as the University Area Connector.

Elisa Ortiz of Tampa said the changes would force her to make changes of her own, possibly leaving earlier to get to her housekeeping job at a law office in South Tampa.

Part of the trip has her catching Route 15 at Columbus Drive and Habana Avenue. HART proposes changing Route 15 from a 45-minute pickup cycle to once an hour.

"It will be harder. Sometimes I wait a long time here," said Ortiz, who packs an umbrella, a pocket-size New Testament and coffee for the wait. The trip to work from Town 'N Country often takes more than two hours and involves three buses.

"I get out early because I know I have a long trip," she said.

Gloria Mills, an advocate for disabled riders, also decried the cuts.

"As soon as you get used to one thing, they're changing it. I think it's terrible," she said.

The changes are not definite and riders could sway HART on which cuts are enacted and which are shelved, Karalekas said. In addition, board members might tinker with the list by the time they vote June 1.

"A lot will change between now and when the service changes happen," she said.

Altogether, the cuts will produce about $270,000 in savings for the rest of this fiscal year and $1.3 million in 2010.

They come after years of ridership growth and one year after the agency enhanced service on about 10 routes. This past fiscal year ridership has stagnated, and HART faces a decline in tax revenue next year.

HART provides about 40,000 rides daily. The agency has talked of expanding service and operating a rail line, but it's hampered by how it is funded. About 65 percent of its $57 million operating budget comes from property taxes. The rest is from the fare box, advertising fees and some government grants.

HART receives federal grants, but by law most of that money must go toward capital purchases, such as new buses.

Only two other transit agencies in Florida derive most of their operating budgets from property taxes: Pinellas and Volusia counties. Most agencies receive revenue from sales taxes, gas taxes or a combination.

HART wants to do the same. It's proposing to increase the 7-cent sales tax in Hillsborough by a half cent or cent. A half-cent increase would bring in about $110 million yearly.

The idea would need voter approval, however. The county is studying whether to place the sales tax question on the 2010 ballot. HART doesn't have authority to bring a question to a countywide referendum.

"It's a lot more helpful to have diverse funding sources," Karalekas said of the sales tax idea. "If one revenue stream is dipping, the other can help you."