Transit Now Tampa Bay

09/04/2026

Turn out for transit! 🔊🚌🙏

Tuesday, September 8th is the first Tampa City Council budget public hearing! We need to fund one more year of Route 1's frequency increase!

Here's the breakdown:

> The Mayor already allocated $1.35 M to Route 1, yay!!!
• The total need is $1,405,000, according to HART planners. This means, we need a simple additional allocation of $55,000 to deliver the SAME FREQUENCY that the city funded LAST year! Riders LOVE IT!!!
• Why not make it a clean $1.5 M? We're asking the city to add an additional $95,000 to the contract for HART to use to PROMOTE Route 1 AND do more awareness marketing of other bus routes and HART services. They *could* hire an intern, make more videos, and more to engage new and existing ridership!

Want to ask for more or something else? What about bus stop improvements? The average cost of bus stop improvements is $30k to $150k... Are there specific bus stops you want to see improved? Let council know prior to Tuesday at 5:00 PM via email @ [email protected], or JOIN US IN PERSON!

What: First Tampa Budget public hearing
When: Tuesday, Sept. 8 @ 5:00 PM
Where: Tampa City Hall, 315 E. Kennedy Blvd (entry in back), 3rd floor

Public comments are 3 minutes!
Virtual commenting is available but you must sign up online in advance at https://www.tampa.gov/form/city-council-meeting-public-comment
(City Council Special Call/Agenda item 1/File No. B2027-2)

💛🚍

08/27/2026

We've got a LOT cookin' y'all 🚍! Come to our August 31st meeting to learn what would happen to our public transit system if the property tax reduction initiative - Amendment 3 - passes this November (spoiler: it's not good). We've also got some City of Tampa budget season Route 1 and streetcar funding work to do, a storytelling initiative (tell yours at bit.ly/tntbstory), canvasses and outreach to plan to elect Neil Manimala, Aileen Rodriguez, and also reelect incumbents Harry Cohen and Gwen Myers, and we'll take a look at the Orlando STAR ⭐ Plan Sunrise Movement Orlando has been working on!

REGISTER NOW at bit.ly/tntbzoom

Email [email protected] with questions or message our page!

08/24/2026

Ashley Hermann is running for Florida State House district 69 in Hillsborough County! Transit Now Tampa Bay organizer Dayna took a ride with Ashley on route 37 from the Brandon Mall to talk transit while taking transit!

Here's what Ashley has to say about the importance of public transit in Hillsborough County:

"Tampa Bay is one of the deadliest metro areas in America, and one of the worst for traffic; according to recent reports, we’re losing 57 hours a year in rush hour traffic, costing us all an average of $600 in lost time and auto expenses. We know that investing properly in public transit can cut road fatalities and congestion in half; with so many billionaires cashing in on Florida, why do we have one of the most underfunded public transit systems in the country? Enough lane expansions, let’s get real results that really deliver - build the damn trains!"

08/21/2026

Cool! FlixBus is a great affordable option for longer distance travel and will be running out of the Marion Transit Center!

The stops include:

• Atlanta: 232 Forsyth St, Atlanta, GA 30303
Warner Robbins/Byron: 12017 Watson Blvd, Byron, GA 31008

• Valdosta: 1836 W Hill Ave, Valdosta, GA 31601

• Gainesville: 700 SE 3rd St, Gainesville, FL 32601

• Tampa: 1315 N Marion St, Tampa, FL 33602

• St. Petersburg: 860 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

NEW ROUTE: FlixBus announced that it is launching a new daily bus service connecting Tampa Bay with four cities along Interstate 75. https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/new-bus-service-connects-tampa-bay-with-4-cities-along-i-75/

08/19/2026

It's official! We have our "Transit Candidates" for Hillsborough County Commission, ready to fight for the win on November 3rd!

Neil Manimala For Hillsborough County Commission

and

Aileen Rodriguez For Hillsborough County Commission

Not to mention two incumbents who ALSO need our votes:

✨ Harry Cohen and ✨ Gwen Myers!!!

With these four on the commission, we have a fighting chance at getting an increased or even a new DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE for public transit on the ballot! 🙏🚌🚃⛴️🚆

08/18/2026

WAIT... THREE BOATS!???? 🛥️❗🛥️❗🛥️❗ Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority just announced a THIRD boat for the ferry service, which they're hoping to launch this Fall 2026 🍂 SO SOON! With the $5 million federal grant transferred to them from Hillsborough Transit Authority we knew they were going to buy two boats, which was already an improvement on the single rented ferry the service used to rely on. This new PSTA in-house program will have cheaper fare, increased frequency... We're SO EXCITED!!!! 🫨

08/12/2026

Please sign the letter to protest endless highway widening! Click the link in the post below 🙏🫶

We normally focus on local issues, but with so much going wrong with transportation policy at the federal level, we can't stay silent.

Let your members of Congress know that we need transportation choices, not unsafe roads and endless highways. (America Walks)

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/fund_safe_sustainable_streets?ref=theurbanist.org