May is National Bike Month and Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) makes riding the bus with a bicycle a breeze. HART is encouraging regular riders and those who might want to try transit to try combining their bike with transit as a viable commuter option. The agency actively supports linking bicycles and transit by providing bus racks on buses and throughout its service area.
Also, HART permits folded bikes in carrying bags aboard all HART buses and HARTFlex vans. Users of bicycles with larger wheels should continue using the bicycle rack. Each HART bus and HARTFlex van accommodates two bicycles. Only single-seat, two-wheel bicycles are permitted on buses; no tandems or three wheelers. Plus, the HART Bikes on Buses program enables riders to take their bikes with them and transfer from a HART bus to a PSTA bus without a special permit.
"Cycling is a fun and healthy way for people to get around Tampa, and it can really help with what we call "first and last mile" challenges for people who'd like to take transit but find stops or transfer centers a little far away from their destinations," said HART Chief Executive Officer Katharine Eagan. "Bicyclists can combine their bicycle use with our bus service to travel even further."
HART Bikes on Buses program facts:
- HART logged about 500,000 bicycle boardings in the past two years. For instance, May kicks off the busiest cycling season, and between now and October HART will average 20,000 bike boardings per month.
- By combining two modes of carbon-reducing transportation it is possible to reduce the impact on the shared environment while also greatly increasing one's range of travel. Avoid the expense of parking a vehicle while getting more healthy exercise, and leave the driving to HART while bringing bicycles along for the ride.
- There are dozens of free bike racks throughout the HART transit system, too, conveniently located at many of its bus shelters as well as at some of its Park-n-Ride facilities.
HART works hard to promote the growth in cycling around Tampa and seek proactive, long-term solutions to accommodate a growing market of transit users who travel by bike. Bicycle friendly transit provides cyclists with increased options to travel, and it also expands transit ridership.
Meanwhile, HART strives to ensure safe biking by educating the public with tips about how to protect themselves while cycling and also securely store their bikes. HART Bikes on Buses is another way the agency is committed to linking people with the communities we serve.
For a complete list of bicycle activities throughout the Tampa Bay area you can visit www.tampabaycycle.com.
For more information about the HART Bikes on Buses program or other HART information you can visit www.goHART.org.
