The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority is now offering free WiFi internet for bus riders starting this week.

According to HART, the WiFi-enabled technology will benefit nearly 50,000 passengers each day.

HART offers these steps to access the internet from your device:

1. From your home screen, go to Settings WiFi 2. Turn on WiFi if it is not already on. 3. Tap the name, HART PATRONS-OTG

"Innovation is a key theme of the year for HART," CFO Jeff Seward said.

HART tells us this is all part of a move to ride smarter on buses in Hillsborough County. Riders will soon be able to use an app to pay bus fares.

If a person doesn't have a smart phone, they will be able to access a smart card to scan the fares.

That is expected to be implemented by fall. The eventual goal will be for HART to connect to other regional transit systems.