TAMPA, Fla. — The transit authority that oversees five local counties is on its last ride. On Friday morning, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA) board voted unanimously to dissolve the organization.

What You Need To Know

  • The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority was started by the state in 2007

  •  The organization oversees public transit in five counties

  • The TBARTA board voted unanimously Friday to dissolve itself and cease operations by the end of the year
     
  • The move comes after a bill was filed in the Florida Legislature to dissolve the agency

The agency, started by the state in 2007, will shut down operations at the end of this year, officials said.

It comes after some state lawmakers filed a bill earlier in the month to dissolve the agency. For some public transit riders, the move is a disappointment.

“I hope you keep in touch, that you’ll keep in touch with each other,” Hillsborough County resident Charles Lowe said to board members. “Even though this board is going to disband, the need for public transportation is not going to disband, it’s going to continue with or without this board.”

TBARTA executive director David Green said the state had vetoed funding for the agency for three years and it couldn’t survive without it. He said the board came to that realization several months ago, but many members weren’t ready to give up.

“It’s an unfortunate situation for the region,” Green said in a statement to Bay News 9. “I think the idea of an agency like TBARTA was a good one, it just wasn’t set up to succeed. We’ll see what the future holds and how Tampa Bay decides to address our regional transit needs, but the days of solving them through TBARTA seem to have run their course.”

Green will now begin shutting down TBARTA, which includes paying money back more than $200,000 to the counties it served.

Some local leaders on the board said even without TBARTA, they want to continue to advocate for mass transit.

“I’m very sad that we’ve come to this point today, but that doesn’t mean our work is done,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “Our work, or the way it gets done, is just going to change. But we owe it to our citizens to find a solution to the problem of regional transit.”

According to the plans presented Friday, the board will stop operations at the end of this year and close out TBARTA’s bank account next March. Even though the bill to dissolve the agency has already been filed, it will still need Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature to make it official. 

TBARTA's executive director and director of accounting will also receive 20 weeks of severance pay once the agency stops operations.