HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit) and transit company Transdev are launching a first-of-its-kind ridesharing service in Tampa.
The service, known as HART HyperLINK, offers rides from your house to the bus stop for $3. It will cover a three-mile radius surrounding four HART-designated transit stops in the Tampa area, with plans to expand to Brandon in December.
Riders can book their trip through an app and those without a smart phone can call 813-298-0455 to order a ride. HART aims to pick everyone up within 10 to 15 minutes of requesting a ride.
Riders shouldn’t expect to be alone. Drivers will be picking up multiple people from the same area to take them to the bus stop.
Sean Quigley, the project manager for HyperLINK, says that this service will improve people’s commutes and make it easier for them to access the bus system.
“There’s safety issues, there’s also, I mean in Florida, you never know when it’s going to rain, you never know when it’s going to be 100 degrees outside and even a really short walk is not going be fun,” Quigley said. “So I think there’s a lot of different use cases where this can make someone’s day better, just by getting a ride in a clean car with a friendly driver, and they get dropped off right at the bus stop.”
The service will be wheelchair accessible and launches at 9 a.m. Monday at the University Area Transit Center.
