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From page 298... ... B‐2 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) Case Study: Tampa – St. Petersburg, FL Highlights: Resilience efforts at HART are broadly and visibly supported by the agency's CEO and CFO. The agency has chosen to use its sustainability and environmental management system processes to drive resilience planning and adoption. They are primarily focused on urban/street flooding, hurricanes and coastal storm surge. In this regard, HART has: adopted green infrastructure best management practices to mitigate flooding at parking lots, and other operational facilities; put in place standard operating procedures for temporary flood proofing and to move assets to higher ground when flooding is expected; and adopted an emergency operations plan and standard operating procedures to facilitate the safe, orderly and efficient shut down of services and rapid restoration of services after disaster. HART regularly partners with city government (Tampa and St. Petersburg) Read the entire page →
From page 299... ... B‐3  Temperature rise is already costing substantially more fuel (and emissions) for air conditioning Agency Details Geographic Location Gulf Coast Modes Operated Light rail transit, metro bus, and paratransit System Size Medium Typical Hazards Heat, Precipitation, Urban Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Hurricanes and Tropical Storms – wind, Sea Level Rise, Waves, Storm Surge The Tampa‐ St. Petersburg region has eight transit agencies. Two of these -- the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) Read the entire page →
From page 300... ... B‐4 nationally and internationally. What started him and HART on this path was SEPTA's work on resiliency, getting federal funds to raise some bridges and work on stormwater. Flood levels have been increasing over the last decade. The CFO's office has been able to jumpstart resilience considerations through contract management, procurement, and the agency's sustainability program, which this office leads. As an executive, the CFO can reach out cross‐functionally to get the resources he needs. He is also working on getting a project management office going. The CEO has been providing the opportunity with the CFO position to drive resiliency and sustainability initiatives throughout the organization. This support has enabled HART to avoid failure points they have observed at other agencies; i.e., the lack of ownership or leadership at higher level some agencies contend with when a middle management champion is responsible for the initiative. HART has more momentum they think. The CFO can say, "Do it! " HART's initial focus is regulatory compliance, using the agency's EMS, but now HART is also reaching out to the entire region with eight other counties, around transportation resilience issues. HART has taken the MPO cost‐benefit adaptation analysis results and is applying those to the transit system. The agency is getting a student from the University of South Florida Master's Program in Sustainability to identify transit needs and applications and help develop emergency operations programs. HART is aware that many in the region rely on transit to attain health services or food; transit is vital for environmental, cultural, and social sustainability. The most challenging impediment has been competing priorities; HART hasn't been able to spend as much time moving resiliency forward regionally as the CFO would like. Commonality of purpose is also likely to be an issue. HART has certain catalysts and specific areas to address for resilience or mitigation. Also HART is an independent taxing authority, but all the other partner organizations except one are components of other larger organizations, which could be a sizable obstacle. Measurement and Reporting on Resilience‐Related Efforts There has been no measurement and reporting on resilience‐related efforts to date, but HART expects there will be in the future. The agency is tracking carbon emission reductions and has made progress in this area with transition to CNG vehicles. At this point HART has not conducted any weather, resilience, or stormwater or flooding‐related measurement or reporting, but they anticipate doing so in the future. With regard to communication with the public, policy makers, customers or others about the steps being taken to make transit infrastructure and services more resilient, HART's primary connection to outside agencies is the Regional Transportation Authority TBARTA, which the state created to coordinate throughout region. The CFO serves as a Chairman of this authority's Transit Management Committee and brings resiliency issues to that agency, for connectivity to other agencies in the region and he connects resiliency to the sustainability issues that HART is engaging. HART also uses press releases and has added an environmental component to the agency's website. HART uses social media such as Twitter to communicate with the public when routes are compromised by flooding and need to be moved. With the larger public and a level of lack of acknowledgment of climate change on the state level, HART is trying to simply focus on the fact that the region is seeing more rain than it has in the past Read the entire page →
From page 301... ... B‐5 100 years and more people are taking transit than ever. Further, when it rains heavily, HART needs to be able to operate. The agency has undertaken many efforts to ensure that maintenance and operations personnel have the information and training needed to incorporate resiliency considerations in their work responsibilities. The agency is also taking resiliency into consideration on an ad hoc basis as they address ADA compliance for bus stops. They are looking at which stops are consistently flooded and may need to change location. Resiliency training for bus drivers covers what not to do as well as what to do. Last year a HART driver was featured on multiple news channels and CNN after he tried to traverse an area that was flooded and too deep. HART's service planning department is currently the standout part of the agency in terms of resilience in terms of the re‐routing that they do during flooding events. The service planning director comes from Baltimore and the Northeast where agencies she served had to deal with ice. HART is pretty nimble with re‐routing and doing parallel routing during events. They have an application that tells riders estimated arrival times, departure times and delays for buses. HART also uses a text feed and Twitter; e.g., they can tell passengers to pick up the bus two blocks over, where they are providing service on a route out of the way of danger. Systems Planning HART has not mapped its assets and infrastructure in terms of vulnerability to natural disasters and weather‐related events but the agency is considering areas of known vulnerability reported by maintenance and operations and is beginning to take this into consideration in decision making. HART also plans to utilize adaptation analyses performed by the MPO. Transit system vulnerabilities and measures to address the vulnerabilities and the potential costs of implementing resiliency measures are just beginning to be communicated to agency decision makers. Performance monitoring hasn't included an assessment of performance during extreme weather events but will in the future. HART has performed analysis of fuel impacts during heat waves and noted that air conditioning and fuel demand is substantially higher. HART plans for back up routes during disruptions from flooding. No formal agreements are in place to ensure the provision of assets and/or services from sister agencies. The agency plans to evaluate what resiliency goals may be achievable and what makes sense (time for return to service) in the next year. Asset Management HART has an asset management plan that has been consolidated for the whole agency for the first time this past year. It does not yet include specific resiliency goals and policies. HART is in the process of inventorying vehicles, stations, and facilities. The agency knows the most about their equipment, such as the type of vehicle, CNG or diesel, any repairs that could release environmental hazards, and specifications for buses such as wheelbases and heights. They have also inventoried gig equipment within the garages, bays, and buildings, when they will need HVAC systems or new roofs and can the agency bring them up to higher hurricane force wind level? Read the entire page →
From page 302... ... B‐6 have a very large sign flying into a neighborhood and the agency also has the cost of replacing the sign. HART stores their asset management information in Excel. The agency has not completed a transit infrastructure/asset vulnerability and risk assessment. Only vehicle condition/bus repair information is available. HART does track when air conditioning fails and also fuel consumption. Buses have to cool down before they go out into service. They recently had their hottest summer ever and the agency noticed it in fuel consumption. Buses were running longer and harder. Consumption was about 8.5% higher than last year with the same amount of miles and despite having a newer more fuel‐efficient fleet. Employees help alert the agency to problem areas and are trained in what to do, if, for example, a bus breaks down near a stormwater drain or a route is too flooded to operate. Capital Planning, Programming and Finance HART has a capital investment strategy or plan and an item will receive extra consideration if it helps the organization become more resilient. The agency's capital plan is updated annually and is informed by asset management, centered on buses, showing when they are coming to the end of their useful life. The agency uses a 10‐year time horizon. In the past there was no real assessment of buildings but now the agency is beginning to have centralized consideration of total capital needs. In the future there will be resiliency performance measures. All project requests will have a check block on whether the project addresses resiliency. The agency's first priority is its vehicles and keeping service on the streets (unless there is a security or safety issue) . As part of the facilities assessment, HART considers safety of patrons and employees. They plan to prioritize facilities based on what their inventory shows. If an area is critical, such as a transit center, it can rise to a higher priority. Probability and magnitude of climate or extreme weather impacts are not considered as such, yet. The agency has considered what they would do if certain infrastructure were taken out of service; e.g., if a certain facility is deemed uninhabitable, working with risk and safety, what they would do in case of asbestos or mold. HART conducts CBA for new projects but that does not include resiliency inputs yet. In weighing long‐ term benefits against short‐term costs, the agency considers quantitative and non‐quantitative information. The agency considers long‐term savings and also political capital, what will, over time, buy credibility or public support and what will move the agency forward. The CFO deals with uncertainty, including in the context of vulnerabilities to changing climate conditions, by adding a 15% contingency to every CBA. The normal overrun is between 11‐15%. HART is in the process of getting buy‐in from local government about stormwater management issues. They want to bring the business case back to them, to go after federal or state dollars, because the flooding affects all agencies and residents. As of last summer managers are asked to keep track of whether certain categories of expenses are related to flooding. Cost centers highlight or flag what they would consider weather related now. Previously, costs were only tracked as "weather‐related" in declared emergency weather events. HART is self‐insured. The agency has stop loss and also a board‐mandated financial reserve to mitigate any type of event. They have three months of operating expenses set aside in case of emergency. Read the entire page →
From page 303... ... B‐7 Design standards have not been updated to address changing requirements and needs, such as more intense precipitation events and temperature extremes, but the agency does have specific design standards for winds and hurricanes: Level 3. The agency does not require the use of resilient materials in rehabilitation, reconstruction and new construction projects vulnerable to natural disasters, extreme weather and/or climate risks. Life‐cycle costs outside of equipment are considered informally. HART did consider new types of materials on facilities to reflect heat. "The garages are getting so hot in the summer now we are looking for what we can do." In the past couple years the agency has begun considering the location of new facilities and equipment and potential risks associated with natural disasters, extreme weather and climate change. The agency no longer considers that because a stop is in a certain place it has to stay there. Flooding considerations and the changing situation in that regard, with rider and operator safety and keeping lines operational, are paramount. No program to elevate infrastructure above future flood levels and install flood proofing, levees, sea walls, and dikes is in place. Drainage improvements are underway with the operations facility. HART is doing a stormwater assessment now and attempting to mitigate parking lot flooding. HART is also working with Tampa on basins downstream. HART is using green infrastructure solutions to reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate localized flooding for their operations facility. Two years ago a reassessment study was conducted on multiple BRT routes; HART found that one route was much more vulnerable to precipitation flooding than when the study was first done, six years previous to that. It had changed that much in six years; that route is subject to major flooding, which really altered ability to service that area, according to HART staff, which also note that aged infrastructure is part of the challenge. Operations and Maintenance HART has plans/standard operating procedures in place to temporarily harden infrastructure (e.g., deploy sandbags and other flood proofing) and protect assets (relocate vehicles and other moveable equipment) Read the entire page →
From page 304... ... B‐8 The agency communicates and shares information with customers to manage expectations and ridership demand during times of disaster or major service disruption online and through social media. HART also uses regular maintenance and inspection activities to monitor the condition of potentially vulnerable infrastructure and assets as well as routes; though their formal processes are around buses and preventative maintenance they do collect informal information from staff on route and facility flooding. HART is employing enhanced maintenance and inspections procedures to ensure the proper functioning of fixed infrastructure. They have culverts and ditches that are not being routinely maintained and now the environmental program has taken this over to ensure that they are being maintained. Front‐line operations and maintenance staff and managers provide information regarding system performance during extreme weather and emergency events to help inform resiliency decisions. They are the eyes and ears of the agency during an event, with regard to how flooded an area is and what HART can do or what needs to be done. "They know what is going to flood." Heat is a consideration too. HART has a new maintenance director and they have talked about a pilot doing a comparative analysis of dynamics of drive train systems affected by heat, not just heat generated but ambient heat generated from outside. They would like to couple that with the fuel consumption issue. Emergency Preparedness HART has an emergency management and operations plan (EMP/EOP) . Heat and precipitation flooding have not been addressed yet, just hurricanes. The Safety and Security office is responsible for developing the EMP/EOP. All departments/divisions play a role in the agency's emergency management planning process, which is now consistent with the Federal Government's National Incident Management System and National Response Framework and coordinated with emergency response plans in place at the state and local levels. The plan addresses emergency transportation operations such as evacuation of critical transportation needs populations before, during and after an event on a regional basis, for Hillsborough County. HART has an agreement with the beach communities to help as long as the winds don't get to a certain level. HART coordinates regularly with state and local emergency managers and agencies. The agency has a Continuity of Operations Plan addressing all modes and departments. It identifies essential management, operations and maintenance personnel, with a clear line of succession for management decision making. It identifies an alternate location from which to manage transit system operations and/or maintenance if primary operation and maintenance centers are damaged/destroyed. The agency has contingency plans in place to direct the safe, orderly, and efficient shut down of services in the event of a disaster or weather‐related event as well as a disaster recovery plan in place to ensure rapid restoration of services after an emergency event or disaster, consistent with the Federal Government's National Recovery Framework and coordinated with plans in place at the state and local levels. The routes that need to come online first guide service restoration priorities. The agency has a financial contingency plan but does not have plans to borrow equipment or for mutual aid. Contingency plans for refueling vehicles have been established, in case infrastructure is damaged or destroyed. Read the entire page →
From page 305... ... B‐9 These plans include mutual aid or other agreements to ensure that refueling capability is available when needed. HART has used tabletop exercises to train personnel regarding the protocols and procedures included in the EMP/EOP, COOP and/or other contingency plans. The agency has conducted drills for evacuation only and environmental disasters/spills. HART does not use any kind of forecasting or modeling to anticipate extreme weather or other events. They utilize weather forecasts or anything from state or regional agencies to make plans. HART is engaged in state and local hazard mitigation planning efforts. The agency also has accounting procedures designed to account for severe weather impacts so that they can be entered effectively for insurance, FEMA, FTA and state program reimbursements by being self‐insured. The agency uses FEMA forms to ensure their claims will be accepted. No major natural disaster or weather‐related event that required significant response operations and recovery has occurred for many years; however, 2015's heat and precipitation events were the catalyst for trainings for operators. HART says they have yet to discover what they do not know, regionally. References 1. Seward, Jeffrey. Interview by author. Chief Financial Officer, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. 2. Read the entire page →

From page 298...

... B‐2 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) Case Study: Tampa – St. Petersburg, FL Highlights: Resilience efforts at HART are broadly and visibly supported by the agency's CEO and CFO. The agency has chosen to use its sustainability and environmental management system processes to drive resilience planning and adoption. They are primarily focused on urban/street flooding, hurricanes and coastal storm surge. In this regard, HART has: adopted green infrastructure best management practices to mitigate flooding at parking lots, and other operational facilities; put in place standard operating procedures for temporary flood proofing and to move assets to higher ground when flooding is expected; and adopted an emergency operations plan and standard operating procedures to facilitate the safe, orderly and efficient shut down of services and rapid restoration of services after disaster. HART regularly partners with city government (Tampa and St. Petersburg)

Read the entire page →

From page 299...

... B‐3  Temperature rise is already costing substantially more fuel (and emissions) for air conditioning Agency Details Geographic Location Gulf Coast Modes Operated Light rail transit, metro bus, and paratransit System Size Medium Typical Hazards Heat, Precipitation, Urban Flooding, Coastal Flooding, Hurricanes and Tropical Storms – wind, Sea Level Rise, Waves, Storm Surge The Tampa‐ St. Petersburg region has eight transit agencies. Two of these -- the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART)

Read the entire page →

From page 300...

... B‐4 nationally and internationally. What started him and HART on this path was SEPTA's work on resiliency, getting federal funds to raise some bridges and work on stormwater. Flood levels have been increasing over the last decade. The CFO's office has been able to jumpstart resilience considerations through contract management, procurement, and the agency's sustainability program, which this office leads. As an executive, the CFO can reach out cross‐functionally to get the resources he needs. He is also working on getting a project management office going. The CEO has been providing the opportunity with the CFO position to drive resiliency and sustainability initiatives throughout the organization. This support has enabled HART to avoid failure points they have observed at other agencies; i.e., the lack of ownership or leadership at higher level some agencies contend with when a middle management champion is responsible for the initiative. HART has more momentum they think. The CFO can say, "Do it! " HART's initial focus is regulatory compliance, using the agency's EMS, but now HART is also reaching out to the entire region with eight other counties, around transportation resilience issues. HART has taken the MPO cost‐benefit adaptation analysis results and is applying those to the transit system. The agency is getting a student from the University of South Florida Master's Program in Sustainability to identify transit needs and applications and help develop emergency operations programs. HART is aware that many in the region rely on transit to attain health services or food; transit is vital for environmental, cultural, and social sustainability. The most challenging impediment has been competing priorities; HART hasn't been able to spend as much time moving resiliency forward regionally as the CFO would like. Commonality of purpose is also likely to be an issue. HART has certain catalysts and specific areas to address for resilience or mitigation. Also HART is an independent taxing authority, but all the other partner organizations except one are components of other larger organizations, which could be a sizable obstacle. Measurement and Reporting on Resilience‐Related Efforts There has been no measurement and reporting on resilience‐related efforts to date, but HART expects there will be in the future. The agency is tracking carbon emission reductions and has made progress in this area with transition to CNG vehicles. At this point HART has not conducted any weather, resilience, or stormwater or flooding‐related measurement or reporting, but they anticipate doing so in the future. With regard to communication with the public, policy makers, customers or others about the steps being taken to make transit infrastructure and services more resilient, HART's primary connection to outside agencies is the Regional Transportation Authority TBARTA, which the state created to coordinate throughout region. The CFO serves as a Chairman of this authority's Transit Management Committee and brings resiliency issues to that agency, for connectivity to other agencies in the region and he connects resiliency to the sustainability issues that HART is engaging. HART also uses press releases and has added an environmental component to the agency's website. HART uses social media such as Twitter to communicate with the public when routes are compromised by flooding and need to be moved. With the larger public and a level of lack of acknowledgment of climate change on the state level, HART is trying to simply focus on the fact that the region is seeing more rain than it has in the past

Read the entire page →

From page 301...

... B‐5 100 years and more people are taking transit than ever. Further, when it rains heavily, HART needs to be able to operate. The agency has undertaken many efforts to ensure that maintenance and operations personnel have the information and training needed to incorporate resiliency considerations in their work responsibilities. The agency is also taking resiliency into consideration on an ad hoc basis as they address ADA compliance for bus stops. They are looking at which stops are consistently flooded and may need to change location. Resiliency training for bus drivers covers what not to do as well as what to do. Last year a HART driver was featured on multiple news channels and CNN after he tried to traverse an area that was flooded and too deep. HART's service planning department is currently the standout part of the agency in terms of resilience in terms of the re‐routing that they do during flooding events. The service planning director comes from Baltimore and the Northeast where agencies she served had to deal with ice. HART is pretty nimble with re‐routing and doing parallel routing during events. They have an application that tells riders estimated arrival times, departure times and delays for buses. HART also uses a text feed and Twitter; e.g., they can tell passengers to pick up the bus two blocks over, where they are providing service on a route out of the way of danger. Systems Planning HART has not mapped its assets and infrastructure in terms of vulnerability to natural disasters and weather‐related events but the agency is considering areas of known vulnerability reported by maintenance and operations and is beginning to take this into consideration in decision making. HART also plans to utilize adaptation analyses performed by the MPO. Transit system vulnerabilities and measures to address the vulnerabilities and the potential costs of implementing resiliency measures are just beginning to be communicated to agency decision makers. Performance monitoring hasn't included an assessment of performance during extreme weather events but will in the future. HART has performed analysis of fuel impacts during heat waves and noted that air conditioning and fuel demand is substantially higher. HART plans for back up routes during disruptions from flooding. No formal agreements are in place to ensure the provision of assets and/or services from sister agencies. The agency plans to evaluate what resiliency goals may be achievable and what makes sense (time for return to service) in the next year. Asset Management HART has an asset management plan that has been consolidated for the whole agency for the first time this past year. It does not yet include specific resiliency goals and policies. HART is in the process of inventorying vehicles, stations, and facilities. The agency knows the most about their equipment, such as the type of vehicle, CNG or diesel, any repairs that could release environmental hazards, and specifications for buses such as wheelbases and heights. They have also inventoried gig equipment within the garages, bays, and buildings, when they will need HVAC systems or new roofs and can the agency bring them up to higher hurricane force wind level?

Read the entire page →

From page 302...

... B‐6 have a very large sign flying into a neighborhood and the agency also has the cost of replacing the sign. HART stores their asset management information in Excel. The agency has not completed a transit infrastructure/asset vulnerability and risk assessment. Only vehicle condition/bus repair information is available. HART does track when air conditioning fails and also fuel consumption. Buses have to cool down before they go out into service. They recently had their hottest summer ever and the agency noticed it in fuel consumption. Buses were running longer and harder. Consumption was about 8.5% higher than last year with the same amount of miles and despite having a newer more fuel‐efficient fleet. Employees help alert the agency to problem areas and are trained in what to do, if, for example, a bus breaks down near a stormwater drain or a route is too flooded to operate. Capital Planning, Programming and Finance HART has a capital investment strategy or plan and an item will receive extra consideration if it helps the organization become more resilient. The agency's capital plan is updated annually and is informed by asset management, centered on buses, showing when they are coming to the end of their useful life. The agency uses a 10‐year time horizon. In the past there was no real assessment of buildings but now the agency is beginning to have centralized consideration of total capital needs. In the future there will be resiliency performance measures. All project requests will have a check block on whether the project addresses resiliency. The agency's first priority is its vehicles and keeping service on the streets (unless there is a security or safety issue) . As part of the facilities assessment, HART considers safety of patrons and employees. They plan to prioritize facilities based on what their inventory shows. If an area is critical, such as a transit center, it can rise to a higher priority. Probability and magnitude of climate or extreme weather impacts are not considered as such, yet. The agency has considered what they would do if certain infrastructure were taken out of service; e.g., if a certain facility is deemed uninhabitable, working with risk and safety, what they would do in case of asbestos or mold. HART conducts CBA for new projects but that does not include resiliency inputs yet. In weighing long‐ term benefits against short‐term costs, the agency considers quantitative and non‐quantitative information. The agency considers long‐term savings and also political capital, what will, over time, buy credibility or public support and what will move the agency forward. The CFO deals with uncertainty, including in the context of vulnerabilities to changing climate conditions, by adding a 15% contingency to every CBA. The normal overrun is between 11‐15%. HART is in the process of getting buy‐in from local government about stormwater management issues. They want to bring the business case back to them, to go after federal or state dollars, because the flooding affects all agencies and residents. As of last summer managers are asked to keep track of whether certain categories of expenses are related to flooding. Cost centers highlight or flag what they would consider weather related now. Previously, costs were only tracked as "weather‐related" in declared emergency weather events. HART is self‐insured. The agency has stop loss and also a board‐mandated financial reserve to mitigate any type of event. They have three months of operating expenses set aside in case of emergency.

Read the entire page →

From page 303...

... B‐7 Design standards have not been updated to address changing requirements and needs, such as more intense precipitation events and temperature extremes, but the agency does have specific design standards for winds and hurricanes: Level 3. The agency does not require the use of resilient materials in rehabilitation, reconstruction and new construction projects vulnerable to natural disasters, extreme weather and/or climate risks. Life‐cycle costs outside of equipment are considered informally. HART did consider new types of materials on facilities to reflect heat. "The garages are getting so hot in the summer now we are looking for what we can do." In the past couple years the agency has begun considering the location of new facilities and equipment and potential risks associated with natural disasters, extreme weather and climate change. The agency no longer considers that because a stop is in a certain place it has to stay there. Flooding considerations and the changing situation in that regard, with rider and operator safety and keeping lines operational, are paramount. No program to elevate infrastructure above future flood levels and install flood proofing, levees, sea walls, and dikes is in place. Drainage improvements are underway with the operations facility. HART is doing a stormwater assessment now and attempting to mitigate parking lot flooding. HART is also working with Tampa on basins downstream. HART is using green infrastructure solutions to reduce stormwater runoff and mitigate localized flooding for their operations facility. Two years ago a reassessment study was conducted on multiple BRT routes; HART found that one route was much more vulnerable to precipitation flooding than when the study was first done, six years previous to that. It had changed that much in six years; that route is subject to major flooding, which really altered ability to service that area, according to HART staff, which also note that aged infrastructure is part of the challenge. Operations and Maintenance HART has plans/standard operating procedures in place to temporarily harden infrastructure (e.g., deploy sandbags and other flood proofing) and protect assets (relocate vehicles and other moveable equipment)

Read the entire page →

From page 304...

... B‐8 The agency communicates and shares information with customers to manage expectations and ridership demand during times of disaster or major service disruption online and through social media. HART also uses regular maintenance and inspection activities to monitor the condition of potentially vulnerable infrastructure and assets as well as routes; though their formal processes are around buses and preventative maintenance they do collect informal information from staff on route and facility flooding. HART is employing enhanced maintenance and inspections procedures to ensure the proper functioning of fixed infrastructure. They have culverts and ditches that are not being routinely maintained and now the environmental program has taken this over to ensure that they are being maintained. Front‐line operations and maintenance staff and managers provide information regarding system performance during extreme weather and emergency events to help inform resiliency decisions. They are the eyes and ears of the agency during an event, with regard to how flooded an area is and what HART can do or what needs to be done. "They know what is going to flood." Heat is a consideration too. HART has a new maintenance director and they have talked about a pilot doing a comparative analysis of dynamics of drive train systems affected by heat, not just heat generated but ambient heat generated from outside. They would like to couple that with the fuel consumption issue. Emergency Preparedness HART has an emergency management and operations plan (EMP/EOP) . Heat and precipitation flooding have not been addressed yet, just hurricanes. The Safety and Security office is responsible for developing the EMP/EOP. All departments/divisions play a role in the agency's emergency management planning process, which is now consistent with the Federal Government's National Incident Management System and National Response Framework and coordinated with emergency response plans in place at the state and local levels. The plan addresses emergency transportation operations such as evacuation of critical transportation needs populations before, during and after an event on a regional basis, for Hillsborough County. HART has an agreement with the beach communities to help as long as the winds don't get to a certain level. HART coordinates regularly with state and local emergency managers and agencies. The agency has a Continuity of Operations Plan addressing all modes and departments. It identifies essential management, operations and maintenance personnel, with a clear line of succession for management decision making. It identifies an alternate location from which to manage transit system operations and/or maintenance if primary operation and maintenance centers are damaged/destroyed. The agency has contingency plans in place to direct the safe, orderly, and efficient shut down of services in the event of a disaster or weather‐related event as well as a disaster recovery plan in place to ensure rapid restoration of services after an emergency event or disaster, consistent with the Federal Government's National Recovery Framework and coordinated with plans in place at the state and local levels. The routes that need to come online first guide service restoration priorities. The agency has a financial contingency plan but does not have plans to borrow equipment or for mutual aid. Contingency plans for refueling vehicles have been established, in case infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.

Read the entire page →

From page 305...

... B‐9 These plans include mutual aid or other agreements to ensure that refueling capability is available when needed. HART has used tabletop exercises to train personnel regarding the protocols and procedures included in the EMP/EOP, COOP and/or other contingency plans. The agency has conducted drills for evacuation only and environmental disasters/spills. HART does not use any kind of forecasting or modeling to anticipate extreme weather or other events. They utilize weather forecasts or anything from state or regional agencies to make plans. HART is engaged in state and local hazard mitigation planning efforts. The agency also has accounting procedures designed to account for severe weather impacts so that they can be entered effectively for insurance, FEMA, FTA and state program reimbursements by being self‐insured. The agency uses FEMA forms to ensure their claims will be accepted. No major natural disaster or weather‐related event that required significant response operations and recovery has occurred for many years; however, 2015's heat and precipitation events were the catalyst for trainings for operators. HART says they have yet to discover what they do not know, regionally. References 1. Seward, Jeffrey. Interview by author. Chief Financial Officer, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority. 2.

Read the entire page →

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