A community group photograph showing members of Transit Now Tampa Bay on the corner of N Florida Avenue and W Hanna Avenue in Tampa, Florida on August 29, 2025. Captured in a medium-wide outdoor shot under a partly cloudy sky, a group of about eleven community advocates pose smiling near a bus stop sign and a large orange "DETOUR" arrow sign. Several members raise their index fingers to signal "Number 1" in celebration of HART Route 1. Two women kneel in the front row holding a decorative novelty oversized check displaying "$5000", while behind them stand group members gathered near a sign post reading "HART BUS STOP 1 / Route 1 FARE-FREE" and a roadside business sign in the background reading "McNatt's CLEANERS". — Members of Transit Now Tampa Bay on the corner of N Florida Avenue and W Hanna Avenue in Tampa, Florida on August 29, 2025. Credit: Transit Now Tampa Bay / Facebook

There are about 14 blocks between the Independent Bar & Café and Ology Brewing Co., and a group of transit activists intend on covering them all during a bar crawl later this month.

Grassroots organization Transit Now Tampa Bay (TNTB) wants to put the “pub” in “public transportation” when it brings folks on HART’s No. 1 bus, which travels up and down N Florida Avenue.

Venues on the route will sell riders a $10 sticker that supports TNTB and unclocks discounts at any of the five stops:

Independent Bar & Café 5016 N Florida Ave.
Common Dialect Beerworks 5023 N Florida Ave.
The Front Porch 5924 N Florida Ave.
Jug & Bottle Co. 6203 N Florida Ave.
Ology Brewing Co. 6401 N Florida Ave.

HART’s Route 1 runs every 15-20 minutes, and costs $2 to ride, with a $4 daily cap. Anyone with a digital wallet can just tap their phone to ride.

In 2025, Tampa City Council used $1.65 million to make Route 1 free to ride for an entire year. While fares returned this year, TNTB successfully lobbied councilmembers to continue funding Route 1 to maintain increased frequency.

To help bus newbies, volunteers from TNTB will be at the bars and riding the bus between 4 p.m.-9 p.m. next Friday, Nov. 13 as part of “Tampa’s Bus & Brew Crawl.”

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This article appears in Oct. 29 – Nov. 04, 2026.