Manatee, Sarasota commissions discuss transit collaboration efforts

A regional transit fare card to make easier travel between Manatee and Sarasota counties is still in the works.

While still in the “exploratory stages,” officials with both counties are still working on a Regional Fare Card Project, Sarasota County Area Transit director Rocky Burke told commissioners from both counties at a joint meeting Wednesday.

“We are working on the interlocal agreements and things like that at this time so it’s still quite a bit of work yet to be done on this project,” he said.

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit, under a Joint Participation Agreement with Florida Department of Transportation, is leading the effort for a regional fare card that could eventually be used on the transit systems within the seven-county Tampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority region, according to agenda materials. The equipment to implement the card system is being paid for with FDOT funds, according to the materials.

About seven other counties in the region are already using the system, according to Burke.

Wednesday was not the first time the Manatee and Sarasota commissions heard about the regional fare card. At a joint meeting last October, county officials told commissioners the two counties may become the first to implement the HART’s regional fare project.

“It would be very seamless for someone to get on our bus and transfer to MCAT bus and use the same fare card,” Burke said.

On Wednesday, the commissions were updated about the Universal Pass Program, which was implemented with University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee in January. Students, faculty and staff can show their university IDs to ride for free.

“We are continuing to pursue similar partnership with the other private schools along the corridor up there so it’s going extremely well,” Burke said.

Also on Wednesday, the commissions:

— Heard an update about the Interstate 75/University Parkway Diverging Diamond Interchange project. “This is an amazing project between both counties,” Manatee County Commissioner Robin DiSabatino said. “It should be a very great enhancement to the traffic flow in our areas.”

— Heard an update about the Suncoast Regional Communications Network, the P25 radio project, which is 15 percent complete. The project is currently in site preparation, according to Wednesday’s presentation.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Manatee, Sarasota commissions discuss transit collaboration efforts."