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THE
Bus
History
THE
Bus
began as
a cooperative effort of the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners, Metropolitan
Planning Organization, City of Brooksville, Florida Department of Transportation,
Federal Transit Administration and Mid Florida Community Services, Inc. (which
services part of the Hernando County area (Brooksville/Spring Hill and some
out-lying areas)). We help people of Hernando County become more self-sufficient
in order to achieve their full potential.
 On October 28, 2002; the Spring Hill Routes started serving the greater
Spring Hill area. One week later, November 4, 2002; the Brooksville 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. As the system grew, the following changes were
made on May 4, 2004, to enhance the service.
1. The Brooksville Shuttle/Green Route was added.
2. Shuttle travel time decreased from 90 minutes to 60 minutes
3. Operating hours were extended from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.
4. YMCA and Spring Hill Regional were added to the Spring Hill routes.
5. Pasco-Hernando Community College—North Campus was added to the shuttle
route.
On April 1, 2011, McDonald Transit Associates, Inc. was selected as the new
fixed-route operator for the county.
Currently, the system has 2 buses in Spring Hill and, 1 bus in Brooksville, which shuttles riders between Brooksville and Spring Hill.
Ridership:
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. Presently, THE
Bus is averaging from 480 to 500 riders per day. The highest ridership since
the initiation of the bus system was 882 trips on January 3, 2006.
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.
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