Fast and Free Public Transit for Hillsborough County
Tampa City Council and Mayor's Office, Hillsborough Board of County Officials, and HART Officials
There's a growing movement in Hillsborough County for a fast and free public transit system that would drastically improve the quality of our local transportation system, boost the lives of our county's residents, and spark community and economic growth in our county and the entirety of Tampa Bay. Sign this petition and add your comments about how an improved fast and free public transit system would improve your life and your local community!
More about why this is important and Tampa DSA's campaign for Fast and Free Public Transit:
Car-centric cities are linked to higher fossil fuel emissions, high density traffic, worse health outcomes, and social alienation. Meanwhile, transportation systems with accessible and reliable public transit result in reduced inequalities, cleaner air, and a stronger and more mobile working class. A growing transit equity movement is transforming public transit across the United States. Cities like Boston and New York have funded multiple free fare routes. Entirely free transit systems have been won in Kansas City, Albuquerque, Chapel Hill, Washington D.C., Florida’s Manatee County, and more! Building a public transit system that works for workers means lower wait times, more bus routes, bus shelters that protect us from heat and rain, maintained and upgraded buses, better conditions for transit workers, and zero fares. This campaign aims to shift Tampa’s public transit system towards one that is fast, free, and reliable for all.
The Primary goals of Tampa DSA's Fast and Free Public Transit Campaign are:
I. Shift Tampa and Hillsborough County’s transportation focus and funds away from car-centric spending into public transportation spending; including but not limited to:
Make the Route 1 fare-free pilot permanently fare free. Increase public awareness of the fare free pilot and build public support for making Route 1 (and additional routes) fare free permanently.
Work towards making all bus routes permanently fare free. Demand a fare free pilot for all routes for 2026.
Expand bus access by implementing more bus stops and buses as needed, starting in working class communities and communities historically impacted most by redlining, segregation, and highway expansion.
Improve bus stop conditions so that each stop at minimum has a bench and shaded cover
Reduce wait times to 15 min for every route every day of the week
Reject spending for highway expansions.
Reject spending for subsidies for car share companies.
Reject lane expansions.
Support the demands of rank and file transit workers
Require that every new bus purchased for the city fleet be an electric vehicle, moving us away from further subsidizing harmful fossil fuels and their infrastructure.
II. Increase funding for the public transit budget to meet these goals without the implementation of regressive taxes (taxes that disproportionately impact the working class).
Sponsored by
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To:
Tampa City Council and Mayor's Office, Hillsborough Board of County Officials, and HART Officials
From:
[Your Name]
We, the undersigned residents of Hillsborough county are demanding the implementation of fast and free public bus service to be made available to all.
We demand HART and our public officials implement these services with increased and reallocated funding, not from regressive taxation that hurts the working class.
Free service is defined as no fares for any rider at any time.
Fast service is defined as 15 minutes or less wait times at each bus stop and route.
Free fare on all routes would expedite the boarding process, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing wait times.
Free bus service would reduce and/or eliminate fare-driven conflict between riders and drivers, thereby making bus services safer in that regard.
Free and fast bus service would remove congestion from our roadways, thereby further increasing the bus’s own efficiency as well as the efficiency of all travelers.
Free and fast bus service would increase ridership on public transit, thereby removing drivers from the road and reducing the amount of car related accidents and injuries that occur on the roadways.
Free and fast bus service would benefit disabled residents in our area, thereby improving their quality of life.
Less car traffic on roadways improves environmental conditions of the area, thereby improving quality of life for residents.
Free bus service would greatly benefit low-income riders and workers in the area, thereby having a positive impact on the economy of the area overall.
We demand our elected officials to vote on and implement increased funding for the HART system to go towards making bus services free and fast for all residents.