If you're a transit rider and move between counties in Tampa Bay you can finally throw away all those different fare cards.
- Flamingo Fares card will simplify transportation between counties
- Group is testing it out; launch scheduled for fall
- LINK: Flamingo Fares home page
- LINK: PSTA's Flamingo Fares page
- LINK: HART's Flamingo Fares page
Now there's one card to serve them all, called Flamingo Fares, and a group is currently testing it out.
Derek Shavor commutes from Clearwater to downtown Tampa each day. He takes a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority express across the bridge every morning to protect his car from wear and tear.
"My wife would say that I'm a pretty terrible driver, so to get me off the road is probably a good thing," he joked.
He is part of the group testing Flamingo Fares. PSTA Director of Communications and Marketing Cyndi Raskin-Schmitt is hoping more riders like Shavor can give the agency feedback on their experience.
"We're looking to get 200 riders from PSTA and 200 riders from HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit), so we'll have a pretty good cross-section of riders that are testing it for us," she said.
Previously, someone who lives in Pasco County and works in Tampa had to pay separate fares to Pasco County Public Transit, PSTA and HART.
Now the rider simply presents their Flamingo Fare card or app to the reader on board, and they're good to go.
"We're looking to get 200 riders from PSTA and 200 riders from HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit), so we'll have a pretty good cross-section of riders that are testing it for us." - PSTA's Cyndi Raskin-Schmitt
When Flamingo Fares launches in the fall there will be five county agencies participating: Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota.
William Steele, Manatee County transit division manager, says the county can't justify the expense to install Flamingo Fares technology on their buses against other methods of fare collection.
They are launching Token Transit next month. It's an app-driven fare system where riders simply show the driver the current pass from their phone as they board.
All Tampa Bay transit agencies are watching both programs closely to see what works best to simplify your ride.
HART and PSTA have been planning the launch of Flamingo Fares for two years.