THE Bus is a cooperative effort of the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners, Metropolitan Planning Organization, City of Brooksville

Brooksville

Brooksville is the name of several places in the United States:* Brooksville, Florida* Brooksville, Kentucky* Brooksville, Maine...

, Florida Department of Transportation

Florida Department of Transportation

The Florida Department of Transportation is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of the Florida State Road Department...

, Federal Transit Administration

Federal Transit Administration

The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...

 in serving the people of Hernando County with affordable public transportation.

History

Prior to the establishment of THE Bus, the only resemblance to public transportation available in Hernando County were a tourist bus company in Brooksville, and a local ParaTransit company, which was privately owned. On October 28, 2002, the Spring Hill Routes started serving the greater Spring Hill area. One week later, November 4, 2002; the Brooksville Purple Route started serving the Brooksville area. The system started with 4 buses in Spring Hill and 1 bus in Brooksville, which shuttled riders between Brooksville and Spring Hill. By the 7th day of operation, ridership surpassed the 3rd year projection of 200 trips per day, with ridership of 219 trips. After 22 months of operation, THE Bus was averaging 425 to 434 trips per day.

On May 3, 2004, Hernando County added the Brooksville Shuttle Bus—Green Route, along with the Pasco-Hernando Community College

Pasco-Hernando Community College

Pasco–Hernando Community College is the youngest two-year community college in Florida. With four campuses in Brooksville, Dade City, New Port Richey and Spring Hill, PHCC serves Pasco and Hernando counties in the central west coast of Florida....

—North Campus stop. The former Purple Route was moved entirely within the City of Brooksville. Travel time was extended from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M., and the Spring Hill routes were extended from YMCA of Hernando County to Spring Hill Regional Hospital. In addition, they decreased the Brooksville–Spring Hill shuttle travel time from 90 minutes to 60 minutes.

Presently, THE Bus is averaging from 540 to 675 riders per day. The highest ridership since the initiation of the bus system was 882 trips on January 3, 2006.

Fare Structure

The cash fare to board the bus is $1.50, however a 60 cent discount is available to medicare card holders, persons with disabilities, and students (with a valid ID).

Routes

THE Bus operates 3 fixed bus routes throughout Hernando County: two in Spring Hill and one in Brooksville.

• Spring Hill: Blue and Red
• Brooksville: Purple

Possible Suspension of Service

Due to the ongoing budget crisis at the local, state, and national levels, as well as low ridership, the Hernando County Board of Commissioners voted in late April, 2009 to cut THE Bus service in half, reducing the frequency of trips (from 60 minutes to 120 minutes). Additionally, the county commission rejected a stimulus proposal that would have called for five new buses. The county will instead look into refurbishing three of their existing buses to lengthen their lifespans. No date for the cutbacks has been determined.

Reduction of Service—October 1, 2009

On June 23, 2009, the Hernando County Board of County Commission approved to move forward with the reduction of service to the fixed route system, THE Bus. These changes included a decrease in the frequency of bus travel along the routes from one hour headways to two hour headways. This was accomplished by reducing the number of operating vehicles from six to three. In addition, the Brooksville Route 3/Purple Route and the Brooksville Shuttle/Green Route were combined into one route, the Brooksville Route 3/Purple Route

External links

• Official Site