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By Michael Sasso
Tampa Tribune
June 9, 2011
Hillsborough and Pinellas counties' bus services could merge into one, according to a proposal before the Florida Senate Transportation Committee.
It's just an idea at this point, but consolidating the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority might save on staff and overhead costs, said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, who chairs the Transportation Committee.
It wasn't clear Wednesday how a merger might affect the thousands of people who rely on each authority's buses.
However, it's inconceivable that it would reduce bus service, said R.B. Johnson, chairman of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority. The Tampa Bay area already provides less mass transit service than many similarly sized areas, Johnson said.
Latvala represents a state senate district that includes Pinellas and parts of South Tampa and western Hillsborough. On Wednesday, he and several other local legislators told the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce about how legislative bills affect local business.
Florida's budget situation is so troubled that Latvala predicts legislators will consider consolidating many offices or agencies to save money. Merging the local transportation authorities is one option, he said.
Already, HART operates a bus that takes people from Tampa to Clearwater. And PSTA runs two buses between Pinellas and Tampa. Merging the two entities into a regionwide transit agency might eliminate some of the overhead costs, Latvala told the chamber.
The Senate Transportation Committee will study the issue this summer, he said.
Leaders of both transit agencies withheld judgment Wednesday. Johnson said merging them might help the region cooperate better on transportation issues. If the Bay area ever gets a light-rail system, people question how Pinellas and Hillsborough counties could separately oversee it, Johnson said.
But, if the idea is to cut costs, you can't really cut bus drivers or maintenance facilities, Johnson said.
"Everything else underneath the top level of administration would still need to be in place," he said.
Marcia Mejia, a spokeswoman for HART, said her agency is aware of Latvala's idea and plans to invite him to speak at a HART board meeting.
Original article from the Tampa Tribune
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