A pair of bills filed in the Florida legislature late last week would look at dissolving the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) and Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) and merging the two entities.
The possibility was brought up in a HART board meeting Monday.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who's also a HART board member, said Monday she'd be all for looking into a merger between PSTA and HART.
"Looking at the benefits on all levels, from the service that could be provided, the potential funding that could be available, and/or saved for our bus systems,” Castor said. “And I think that we've grown as a region to the point that that needs to be explored."
But HART board member and Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp disagrees with the idea.
“We continually hear about how this would bring in more money, and it never has,” Kemp said. “This has gone on for years. It never brings more money. It will bring less resources, less opportunity for us to work with the people of Hillsborough County and serve them in the most efficient and best way.”
State Sen. Danny Burgess, who's district covers Hillsborough and Pasco Counties, filed a bill to have the state Department of Transportation explore merging the two entities, while also looking into the pros and cons of dissolving HART.
“Given this state’s rapid population growth, coordination of transportation planning, particularly regional transportation planning, is critical to the safe and efficient management, operation, and development of public transit systems,” the bill language reads. “The Legislature questions whether the merger of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority would result in operational efficiencies and reduced administrative costs and further a regional approach to transit.”
Meanwhile, Hillsborough House Representative Lawrence McClure filed a similar bill.
According to both bills’ language, the study would have to address how the two agencies could improve transit services, while also looking into multiple facets of the organizations, like the governance structure, staff organization, funding options, and more.
If they pass, the study would have to be completed by Jan. 1, 2024. It would be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, and Speaker of the House Paul Renner.
This comes as revenue projections for HART show harsh upcoming financial challenges, and in the midst of an investigation into its CEO Adelee Le Grand being finalized, following allegations of toxic workplace management, and the discovery that one of her employees was working at a different transit agency at the same time.
Both HART and PSTA opposed studying merging the two agencies when the idea was proposed in 2012.
