Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project

Planning for the Future of Transit

In August 2007, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners voted to invest $40 million in Bus Rapid Transit improvements and new park and ride lots in the county. HART has begun the planning phase of the project, with specific corridors identified as the first targets for the service.

Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, improves travel along selected service corridors with improvements that increase the speed of transit, improve service reliability and make it easier for people to use transit. The improvements typically include bus preferential treatments (traffic signal priority, off-vehicle ticket vending machines), enhanced passenger stations (shelters, real-time passenger information), and special low-floor buses.

HART is planning the first phase of BRT service for the I-275 North to South Corridor - Nebraska Avenue from downtown Tampa then east along Fletcher Avenue to the vicinity of Telecom Park (west of I-75). The opportunity for a park and ride facility in the vicinity of Fletcher Avenue/I-75 is being reviewed. Design and engineering work will also be undertaken for an east-west BRT route, connecting Tampa International Airport, the Westshore Business District and HART’s Netpark bus transfer center at Hillsborough Avenue/56th Street.

Work on the planning study will be proceeding over the next few months. Design and engineering will follow in early 2008 and into 2009. Operation of BRT service on the I-275 North Corridor is scheduled to begin in early 2010.

Click Here to download a PDF version of the study's draft Executive Summary.

Click Here for a larger image

For more information on HART's proposed BRT corridors, click the links below:

BRT Facts - North/South (PDF)

BRT Facts - East/West (PDF)