The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) is a government agency that provides public transportation for Pinellas County, Florida. The authority manages a fixed-route bus system that encompasses over 40 bus routes - including two express routes to Tampa; the Central Avenue Trolley; the Suncoast Beach Trolley; and the bus rapid transit service, the SunRunner.

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Quick Facts Founded, Headquarters ...

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority

Founded	1984
Headquarters	3201 Scherer Drive, St. Petersburg, Florida
Locale	Pinellas County, Florida
Service area	Pinellas County
Service type	bus service
Alliance	Pinellas County Government
Routes	40
Stops	4602
Fleet	210
Daily ridership	30,700 (weekdays, Q4 2023)[1]
Annual ridership	10,052,000 (2023)[2]
Fuel type	Clean Diesel, Diesel-Electric Hybrid, Battery Electric
Chief executive	Brad Miller
Website	www.psta.net

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PSTA's roots trace back to the early 1900s as the St. Petersburg Municipal Transit System (SPMTS). The system began with a streetcar line to Gulfport and eight buses to run several routes throughout the St. Pete area. Unlike the advent and expansion of Tampa's original streetcar system, the Gulfport streetcar only encompassed 23 miles of track along its singular line. However, the line proved to be popular amongst area residents during its heyday. In 1928, the entire SPMTS system carried 4.2 million customers, marking a major milestone for the agency. As the 1930s came and went, streetcar usage began to decline - as was the case nationwide. By 1949, the streetcar line had closed, marking the end of streetcar service in Pinellas County as a whole.^[3][4]

Despite the demise of the Gulfport trolley, bus service throughout Pinellas County continued to expand throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. In 1970, the Central Pinellas Transit Authority (CPTA) was formed, serving the Clearwater area and northern Pinellas. The agency was fully established by 1973 and operated 9 routes with a fleet of 21 buses. The CPTA saw 900,000 riders in its first year of service. In 1975, SPMTS begins paratransit services and both agencies continue to expand their fleet. In 1978, tourist trolley service (using trolley-replica buses) began in downtown St. Petersburg and became successful. By the 1980s, the two agencies formed a cooperative agreement, which allowed the expansion of routes throughout Pinellas County. This agreement also led to the creation of a single customer service phone number. In October 1984, the two companies formally merged (via an act of the Florida Legislature) to create the PSTA. In the years following their merger, PSTA operated nearly 80 routes with a fleet of nearly 130 buses. The agency begins installing electronic fareboxes and completed its central Pinellas operations center, as well as several bus terminals. In 1990, PSTA obtained its first express route, previously operated by Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART). Also in 1990, PSTA established a cross-county bus route via US 19. Further expansion of bus service continued through the 1990s and 2000s; with the construction of bus terminals at Williams Park in Downtown St. Petersburg (opening in 1994) and the Central Plaza Terminal (now known as Grand Central Station) in the Grand Central District off Central Ave near US 19 (opening in 2002). The agency introduced electronic fare cards (GO Cards) in 1996, as well as accelerated replacement of outdated buses. In 2001, the Suncoast Beach Trolley began service along the gulf coast beaches and in 2003, PSTA purchased a fleet of commuter buses to operate its express routes. A year later, PSTA and HART introduced an intersystem Passport to allow customers to use each other's systems for a single monthly fare. In 2005, PSTA relocated all of its operations to a single, unified facility in northern St. Petersburg - near Ulmerton Rd and Roosevelt Blvd. In 2006, HART and PSTA agreed to honor each other's reduced fare photo permits.^[5]

From the late 2000s onward, PSTA began purchasing diesel-electric hybrid buses and attempted to bring forth further expanded bus service, as well as premium transit service such as Bus Rapid Transit or Light Rail Transit to Pinellas County. This began with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the agency, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority (TBARTA), the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to conduct an Alternatives Analysis of transit corridors in Pinellas County.^[6] This was then followed up by a series of public engagement sessions and eventually the failed attempt in 2014 by Pinellas County to pass a sales tax referendum (Greenlight Pinellas).^[7] In 2012, the agency launched the North County Connector flex-route van service, allowing customers in areas of northern Pinellas to have access to transit service - including those in neighborhoods by which regular transit buses have difficulty accessing or where a traditional fixed bus route would have lower ridership projections. The three routes have since been modified to serve areas with demand for the service.^[8]

In 2017, PSTA began Direct Connect, which allows customers to summon a ride via taxi or ride share to connect to or from a designated stop or bus terminal "PSTA Brings Together Uber and Taxi to get People on the Bus". Mass Transit Magazine. Mass Transit Magazine. 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2022-11-14.. In 2018, a partnership between PSTA, HART, Pasco County Public Transportation, and transit agencies in Hernando, Manatee, and Sarasota counties began working on a regional fare collection system called Flamingo Fares Tampa Bay. This system would allow customers to use either a smartphone app or a smart card to tap a reader device and pay for their transit fares in a seamless, contactless manner. While Manatee County was involved in the initial phase of the program, county officials decided to leave the project in pursuit of a different fare collection vendor.^[9] The same year, PSTA announced that it would partner with Transit App to help provide real-time bus arrival predictions and eventually other features to customers via the use of smartphones.^[10] The agency also introduced its first two battery electric buses - produced by BYD, and revamped Route 300X to serve Tampa International Airport on most trips.^[11][12]

In 2018, PSTA pushed ahead with planning for what would become the SunRunner, with planning for the project reaching 60% completion by September, 2019.^[13] The SunRunner branding was formally unveiled in 2020, along with the project groundbreaking.^[14] Despite delays in the project - partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SunRunner opened to customers on October 21, 2022 to great fanfare.^[15]

PSTA operates 38 routes (including one limited express route) that traverse Pinellas County and 2 express routes that connect into downtown Tampa.^[16]

• Grand Central Station - Downtown St. Petersburg - Serving Routes: 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 15, 18, 34, 52, 52LX, 79, 90, CAT (Also serving Downtown St. Pete are Routes 4, 14, 16, 20, 23, 32, 79, 100X, Looper
• Park Street Terminal - Downtown Clearwater - Serving Routes: 18, 52, 52LX, 60, 61, 65, 66L, 67, 73, 76, 78, Jolley Trolley, SBT
• Tyrone Square Mall - Serving Routes: 5, 7, 18, 20, 22, 23, 38, 62, 68, 73, 75, 79
• Countryside Mall - Serving Routes: 19, 61, 62, 67, 76, 78, 812, 814 (on-demand)
• Gateway Mall - Serving Routes: 4, 9, 16, 58, 74, 75, 100X
• Pinellas Park Transit Center - Serving Routes: 11, 34, 52, 52LX, 74, 75
  • Serves as a stop for Greyhound.
• PSTA 34th Street Transfer Center - Serving Routes: 4, 11, 52, 52LX, 59
• Largo Transit Center - Serving Routes: 19, 34, 52, 52LX, 79
• Ulmerton Park-n-Ride - Serving Routes: 59, 300X
• Largo Mall - Serving Routes: 18, 59
• Seminole Shopping Center - Serving Routes: 18, 58, 65, 74
• Indian Rocks Shopping Center - Serving Routes: 59, 61, 65
• Clearwater Beach Transit Center - Serving Routes: SBT, Jolley Trolley

In addition to the cross-bay express routes, PSTA also provides connections to Pasco County Public Transportation (PCPT) bus routes 18 and 19 via PSTA routes 19 and 66.

PSTA operates a fleet of 210 transit buses.^[17] The bus fleet consists of a fleet of Gillig Low Floor and BRT buses as well as BYD buses. They are powered by clean diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, and battery-electric. All buses were equipped with barrier shields in the operator area during the course of 2020 through 2021, and many buses are being fitted with LCD screens that display next stops and customer information - replacing the LED-based scroll signs near the front of the bus interior.