Regional Bus System Seen As Draw

Recently elected County Commissioner Jim Adkins may be new on the board, but he voiced an old concern during Tuesday's Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting.

Adkins said he's tired of seeing so few people on THE Bus, Hernando County's public transportation system.

Adkins said he's visited other communities, including Orlando, and saw buses so packed that people were standing up during the ride.

"How long do we have to keep funding a program, hoping someday we'll see more ridership?" Adkins asked Tuesday.

Commissioner David Russell told Adkins he's preaching to the choir.

The board has been trying to come up with solutions for years.

County staffers are still looking into drumming up support for business advertising on the sides of the buses, a move designed to net more money.

Earlier this year, there had been concerns THE Bus was going to be permanently parked because the cost didn't justify serving less than 1 percent of the populace.

But in July, commissioners upped fares and reduced the subsidy to THE Bus by $200,000, or one third.

Robert Clifford, executive director of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, said the secret of increasing ridership is to create routes that people want to take and make them easy to use.

For example, if a public bus that stopped every 15 minutes at a Suncoast Parkway interchange and made a trip to the Westshore area of Tampa, the bus would be full, he said.

The community must start thinking regionally and create transportation alternatives for commuters, who are already spending 33 percent of their income annually on transportation-related costs, Clifford said.

Of course, money is always the issue, he said.

Commissioners agreed they need to talk with surrounding counties and discuss connectivity - not only of bus routes but other transportation projects.

In related transportation news:

• Work on micro-paving roads in the Gulf Ridge Park subdivision will begin this week.

Micro-paving is a pavement preservation process that applies a thin asphalt overlay to the roadway surface.

Gulf Ridge Park is located just north of Brooksville, off Fort Dade Avenue.

Access to homes will be maintained, but residents should expect one-way traffic and brief delays in the vicinity of the work.

For more information about the project, call the Hernando County Engineering Division at 754-4064, Ext. 17013.