TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa’s city council approved the budget for fiscal year 2025 Tuesday evening.

The $1.8 billion net spending plan includes $1.65 million to make Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) Route 1 free for one year.

Several residents spoke in favor of the plan during the public hearing held before the vote. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Tampa City Council approved the $1.8 billion net budget for fiscal year 2025 Tuesday evening

  • The spending plan includes $1.65 million to make HART's Route 1 free

  • A number of people spoke in favor of the plan during a public hearing, saying it will help residents save money and reduce traffic

  • Read previous coverage here

“Public transit sits at the intersection of economic justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and more,” said Dayna Lazarus with Transit Now Tampa Bay.

“Yes, the funding seems like a big number and everything like that, but the problem also is, if we don’t pay for it in funding — you know, giving people options — we’re going to pay for it with traffic accidents. We’re going to pay for it with just problems that are going to pop up further, then, down the line,” said Tampa resident Adria Curioso.

Some speakers said they were part of an effort that sent over 500 combined emails to council members on this issue.

“I think it’s really important that as Tampa grows to almost half a million people, we actually look at our constituents and say, ‘Hey, we hear you,’ when we send 511 emails saying, ‘Hey, we want a better city. We want to take a chance on transportation,’” said Tatiana Morales with YIMBY Tampa.

Councilmember Lynn Hurtak said 32,000 people live — and 50,000 jobs are located — within a quarter mile of Route 1, which runs from downtown to the University of South Florida. The goal of the free route is to get more riders to use the bus, which would get cars off the road and ease traffic, as well as save residents money on auto expenses while freeing up money for housing.

“We have a housing hotline that helps people with renting, with rental assistance, and every time we open up that hotline, they take the first 50 applications, and then it closes. It closes within one minute to two minutes every single time we open it up. So, there’s a greater need,” said Hurtak.

HART told Spectrum News earlier this year it faced an $18 million budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year. Some council members argued the city shouldn’t be in the business of funding HART — and one urged speakers to reach out to that group directly.

“We need 500 emails to HART or 2,000 emails to HART,” said Councilmember Bill Carlson. “Please, go with the same passion to HART and the county commissioners and convince them to do something about it, because the city of Tampa will not have the money to fix this. We need the HART board to fix this problem.”

Hurtak said based on discussions with HART, route fares may get waived early next year.