Point A to Point B: The TECO Streetcar Edition

I'm a member of a photography group that went on a Saturday outing to Tampa recently.  I was happy the event organizer suggested we use the TECO Streetcar to get around town.  I had not previously ridden Tampa's electric streetcar system.  (TECO = Tampa Electric Company but the TECO Streetcar is operated by a not-for-profit corporation).

Many urban areas have a similar trolley or streetcar system, and those that don't should.  I still have fond memories of a family vacation to San Francisco in 1984:  The city's famous cable car system had just resumed operation after a two-year restoration project and riding the cable cars over the city's hills was a highlight of the trip.

In the case of the TECO Streetcar, the streetcar took us a distance of about 2.5 miles through Tampa.  The one-way fare is $2.50, which is a little steep but an all-day fare is $5.  The drivers were friendly and helpful.  The cars were air-conditioned; our entire group found that a blessing in Florida's blistering summer heat.

A few thoughts based on my first TECO Streetcar experience and my ongoing experience with Tampa Bay Area transit:

• There are three streetcar routes through the urban areas of Tampa.  The route coverage is good; it links downtown offices with historic Ybor City and the Channel District (also known as "where the cruise ships dock").  Shopping, hotels, museums and restaurants are easily accessible.
• One down side to the streetcar routes is that one is the TECO Streetcar and the others are In-Town Trolleys operated by HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit).  The schedule and fare structure for the TECO line are different from the HART trolley lines.  I find this a little confusing, and the HART trolleys have fairly restrictive schedules.
• Relating to the various fare structures, this is a great idea from the San Francisco Bay Area:  One fare card that will soon operate on all area transit agencies.  I would love see this in the Tampa Bay Area.  It's true, there is a one-month unlimited use pass that applies to both Pinellas and Hillsborough County transit agencies.  But I found this a little difficult to locate on HART's web site, and I would like to see more options beyond just the one-month pass.  I suspect it's just a matter of time.
• Google's trip planner apparently does not include the streetcar.  I'm not sure why, maybe because the streetcar schedule is not as comprehensive as a conventional bus or rail system.  It's still a disappointment to know trip planner is not giving us every option.

All in all, Tampa's TECO Streetcar is a good show.  It's useful for both residents and tourists.  If you are in Tampa, or plan to be in Tampa, leave the car and take the streetcar.  The best transit is not just functional, it also adds of the scenery, and the TECO Streetcar qualifies.

Tampa: Is Transit the Missing Link?

I'm not what you would call an optimist.  But I just moved to Tampa, Florida, and I'm feeling, for me, fairly upbeat. Two factors are putting me on the sunny side of the state.

First, let's be honest, when you're at or near the bottom, there's not much to do but improve.  Lately all the news seems bad.  Consider this:

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the Tampa Bay Area's unemployment rate was 12.7% for March, 2010.  That's horrible, but at least an improvement over our January peak of 13.2%
• Bay Area home prices declined 11% in 2009, making us the second worst performing housing market in the country.
• In February, Forbes declared us the worst area in the United States for commuters.
• The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index ranked the Tampa Bay Area among the unhappiest metro areas in the United States recently.
• GMAC Insurance reports that Florida's drivers rank among the worst 10 states in the nation.  Of course, reckless driving is not just a safety problem, it drives up insurance costs for everyone.
• In 2009, Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Project ranked Florida the worst in the nation for pedestrians and cyclists.

This gives the impression we're all trying to run over each other, what with our unhappiness, cheap homes, and free time from being unemployed.

Still, there are good things going on here.  Some extraordinary beaches and wilderness areas have been preserved despite the best efforts of developers to bulldoze every square inch.  Tampa is an international air and sea hub.  We have an increasingly diverse workforce, not to mention the University of South Florida.

One recurring theme in Tampa, and the entire Tampa Bay Area, is poor transportation.  Florida transportation departments at every level, historically, have been primarily road builders.  The result has been endless sprawl.  I have to think that contributes to our inability to attract employers and the resulting unemployment and unhappiness.

And that's the second reason I'm upbeat:  Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio has been leading the charge to develop a comprehensive area transit system that includes light rail and expanded bus service.  I haven't lived in Tampa long but I can't help but like the Mayor.  She just looks like an optimist, something we need these days.

In a recent column for the St. Petersburg Times, the Mayor wrote, "I see the construction of a modern transit system as critical to our future economic growth and quality of life."  She wisely points out that comparable cities like Charlotte, Phoenix and Dallas have successfully implemented light rail networks.  We are "at least 20 years behind in building a comprehensive transportation system," and this leaves us in poor standing when the Great Recession finally drags to an end.

It's when things seem worst that planning for the future can be most important.  Despite a year's worth of bad news about Tampa, serious people like Pam Iorio are looking at the long term.  The Tampa Bay Area has shown such promise in the past, imagine what a serious transit network will do for us.  Voters in Tampa and the rest of Hillsborough County will hopefully have a chance to vote this November to fund light rail.  I've lived in, and traveled to, areas with serious mass transit systems and it makes a tremendous difference in the quality of life.  And there's good evidence that transit spending is a more effective economic tool than road building.

So I'm optimistic about Tampa's future.  There are still plenty of good things about this area, and the right transit system will bring it all together.

Point A to Point B: The Downtown St. Petersburg Edition

Let me digress for a moment:  I love The Globe Coffee Lounge in downtown St. Petersburg.  It is a funky, friendly café with an eclectic menu and a diverse clientele.  The owner, JoEllen Shilke, is smart and vibrant and a strong supporter of local arts.  I think every community needs more JoEllens and more Globes.

So when Julie and I went to an event at the Globe this week, I decided to make that my next experiment with Tampa Bay Area transit.  I rode PSTA (Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority); one bus, no transfer needed.  Downtown is easily accessible by bus as many of PSTA's routes pass through there.

(Point A to Point B: My route)

The distance from my house to the Globe is 8 miles.  The entire trip, including wait time, took me 58 minutes; compared to Google's estimate of 47 minutes.  (I could have reduced my wait time by 10 minutes but since I'm not familiar with PSTA's on-time record I decided to play it safe and get to the bus stop a little early.)  Exactly 6 minutes of that time was walking from my house to the bus stop; that matches Google's estimate of the walking time.  Driving from Point A to Point B is 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic.

(The view from the bus)

• I wrote previously about my belief that we do not sufficiently fund transit in the Tampa Bay Area.  I think PSTA does very good work with the resources available to them.  On this particular trip the bus was clean, comfortable and on time.

• I'm not wild about PSTA's route maps.  They show a few landmarks but the maps do not show routes in the context of streets, or even with a conventional north-south orientation.  I don't feel these maps are very welcoming to new transit users.

• On the other hand, I do like PSTA's web site.  I find it easy to navigate.  You can purchase tickets online with a $2 handling fee.  Fare and route information are all easy to find.  And Google trip planner is incorporated into the home page.

• A coalition of organizations, including PSTA, operates trolleys that cover downtown St. Petersburg.  The fare is only $0.25.  However, these trolleys only operate until 5PM Sunday through Thursday (later on Friday and Saturday); this is of limited use to people who work a conventional weekday schedule and want to visit downtown in the evening.

• Be careful to look at every suggested route when using Google trip planner.  In my case, Google offered three suggested routes and the third route was the most efficient.

(The Globe)

Point A to Point B on the Tampa Express

How we get from Point A to Point B in our daily lives consumes massive time and energy.  My current home in Pinellas County, Florida, and my (hopefully) future home in Hillsborough County, Florida, are not hotbeds of public transit progressivism.  With a few exceptions, local civic leaders embrace the inefficiency of roads and highways and exclude other transit modes.  Thankfully, there is serious talk these days about light rail (often led by Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio), but that is far off in the future.  For now, bus travel is our only public transit option.

So from time to time I'll select a Point A and Point B, geographically, and use public transit to make the trip.  This week I went from my home to a Borders in Tampa via an express bus that crosses Tampa Bay, connecting St. Petersburg and Tampa.  Julie works near this Borders, so I had a reference point for driving (and a ride home, something most transit riders don't have).

Bay Area residents have some idea of how difficult this trip is.  I traveled through two counties via two different transit agencies: PSTA (Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority) and HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority).  My trip involved walking, riding a local St. Petersburg bus (PSTA), riding the express bus across Tampa Bay, and riding a local Tampa bus (HART).

According to Google, this is a distance of 21 miles.  My actual travel time was 1 hour, 23 minutes; Google Trip Planner estimates 1 hour, 48 minutes; Julie normally makes the drive in about 50 minutes.  Fifteen minutes of my travel time was walking from my house to the bus stop.

However, my total travel time, including waiting, was 3 hours.  I could have shortened this by taking a later local bus in St. Petersburg, but if that particular bus had been only 5 minutes late, I would have missed the express bus, leading to an additional 2 hour wait.  Wait time, of course, is crucial for transit users.

Here are a few take-aways from my bus experience:

• I haven't studied many of HART's routes, but many PSTA routes only run every half hour, some only once per hour.  This is not frequent enough to be practical for many people.  I don't blame PSTA for this; the real problem is that we have not sufficiently funded transit.

• Buses were clean and comfortable.  All the drivers were professional and courteous.  (This is more important than it sounds because I think driving a bus seems like a very stressful job.)  Buses ran on schedule; one even reached its destination a few minutes ahead of schedule.

• Counting student and senior discounts, PSTA offers 14 different fare options.  I appreciate the attempt to offer options, but this might be a little too much.  I would also like to see more area-wide fare options that integrate both PSTA and HART.

• The total fare was $6.50.  This is a little steep, but there are discounted multi-fare options for regular bus travelers.

• The individual fare for both HART and PSTA local buses is $1.75.  Exact change only.  For all those times when you have a dollar bill and three quarters handy.  This (not to mention potentially long wait times) can be a problem for the impulse traveler who just wants to go to a movie or shopping.  Until debit card readers are installed, the fares should be even dollar amounts.

• The day I took the bus was a beautiful spring day in Florida with high temperatures in the mid-70s.  Imagine waiting half an hour or longer at a bus stop during the Florida summer, with a heat index well over 100 degrees.  Now imagine that wait carrying groceries or with a child.  This is another argument for more frequent service.

• This was my first experience using Google's trip planner with public transit.  It was reliable and told me specifically which buses to take.  It did not, however, tell me the bus fare, so I still had to look at the individual transit agencies' web sites for this.

• The buses were not heavily used; there were only 5 passengers on the local PSTA bus and never more than 12 passengers on any of the three buses.  Many use this to support the abandonment of transit.  I feel the exact opposite is true - for all the reasons I've listed above (and more I'll surely think of later), this is evidence that we need to improve Bay Area transit and increase service frequency.  The more convenient it is, the more people will use it.