Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority

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 34 bus routes - including two express routes to Tampa; the Central Avenue Trolley; the Suncoast Beach Trolley; and the bus rapid transit service, the SunRunner and Spark.

History

Beginnings 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.

Merger 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.

Expansion 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 known as "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.

From the 2009 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 to Pinellas County. This began with a Memorandum of Understanding between the agency, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization to conduct an Alternatives Analysis of transit corridors in Pinellas County. 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). 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

In 2018, PSTA pushed ahead with planning for what would become the SunRunner, with planning for the project reaching 60% completion by September, 2019. The SunRunner branding was formally unveiled in 2020, along with the project groundbreaking. Despite delays in the project - partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SunRunner opened to customers on October 21, 2022 to great fanfare. On January 10th, 2025, PSTA opened the new 150 1st Ave North station, featuring glass artwork created by Catherine Woods. A new program was launched on January 10th, called "SunRunner After Dark"; which extended the full service hours until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. The program is subsidized by the City of St. Pete.

In 2020, PSTA placed an order for 62 new Battery Electric Gillig built buses that will be built over the course of 2023-2028. These buses will replace all of the older Diesel buses built between 2005 and 2008. This is a part of PSTA's plan to go all electric by 2050. During the delivery of the units, the order was altered to now include 78 electrics and 9 hybrids. Deliveries started in 2023 and finished ahead of schedule in May 2026.

Effective January 2, 2024, PSTA would stop accepting the old "GO Cards", in favor of contactless payment via Flamingo Fares.

In 2024, PSTA released the Connect Community Bus Network plan (CCBN). The plan was to completely overhaul the bus network while also making service more consistent and efficient than with the previous network. The agency has a goal of having all services run 7 days a week under CCBN. The service changes went into effect in October 2025.

Bus routes PSTA operates 34 routes (including one limited express route) that traverse Pinellas County and 2 express routes that connect into downtown Tampa.

Standard Routes No. Name Terminus 1 Terminus 2 Type Notes4A/B4th Street34th St. N Transfer Center (PSTA Facility) - St. Petersburg46th Ave S & 34th St S (Bay Point Plaza)FrequentBuses run every 15 minutes on weekdays, every 30 minutes during late evenings on weekdays and all day on Weekends. Does not apply to Coquina Key Loop.5Tyrone Square Mall via 5th Ave. NTyrone Square Mall - St. PetersburgDowntown St. Petersburg (Near 3rd Ave. S and 3rd St. S)CommunityHourly service seven days a week; Shorter Sunday and Holiday service.9A/BDr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N/GatewayGateway Mall - St. PetersburgGrand Central Station - St. PetersburgLocalBuses Run every 30 minutes seven days a week; Every hour seven days a week at 28th St. S stop. Shorter Sunday and Holiday service.1128th St. N/Pinellas Point34th St. N Transfer Center (PSTA Facility) - St. Petersburg46th Ave S & 34th St. S (Bay Point Plaza)CommunityHourly service seven days a week; shorter Sunday and Holiday service.1616th St. NGateway Mall - St. Petersburg2nd Ave. S /3rd St. S - St. PetersburgCommunityHourly service seven days a week; shorter Sunday and Holiday service.18A/BClearwater/Bay Pines VA Medical Center/St. Petersburg via Seminole Blvd/Tyrone SquareGrand Central Station - St. PetersburgPark Street Terminal - ClearwaterLocalBuses leave every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday, and hourly on Sundays and holidays. 18B runs along 66th Street. 18A runs along 22nd Ave and 58th St.19US 19 North of LargoLargo Transit Center - LargoHuey Ave. & Tarpon Ave. - Tarpon SpringsLocalBuses leave every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday and every hour on Sundays and holidays.20Pinellas Point/Downtown St. Petersburg46th Ave s & 34th St. S (Bay Point Plaza) - St. PetersburgDowntown St. Petersburg (Near 1st Ave N & 3rd St N) - St. PetersburgCommunityHourly service seven days a week; shorter Sunday and Holiday service.2222nd Ave. N, Northwest Community Center, Tyrone Square Mall, and 4th & 22nd Ave4th St. N/22nd Ave. NTyrone Square Mall-St. PetersburgCommunityHourly service seven days a week; shorter Sunday and Holiday service.24Palms of Pasadena Hospital-Downtown St. Petersburg1st Ave. S/3rd St. S - St. PetersburgPalms of Pasadena HospitalCommunityHourly service seven days a week; shorter Sunday and Holiday service.34US 19 South of Largo/34th St. NLargo Transit Center - LargoGrand Central Station - St. PetersburgLocalBuses leave every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday and every hour on Sundays and holidays.38Downtown St. Pete/Gulf Blvd. & 150th Ave. N3rd Ave. S/3rd St. S- St. PetersburgGulf Blvd./150th Ave. N.CommunityHourly service seven days a week; shorter Sunday and Holiday service.49Downtown St. Pete/ Largo Transit Center (via 49th St.)3rd Ave N. / 4th St. N - St. PetersburgLargo Transit Center - LargoLocalBuses leave every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday; every hour for last 2 hours of operation. Every 30 minutes on Sunday and Holidays (shorter schedule)52A/BPSTA Complex/Downtown Clearwater via E Bay/W Bay Dr and 49th St. NPSTA Complex - St. PetersburgPark Street Terminal - ClearwaterFrequentBuses leave every 15 minutes Monday through Friday most stops, every 30 Monday through Friday on certain stops, every 30 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays, and every hour late night service Monday thru Saturday and all day on certain stops Saturday and Sunday. Certain Stops include Fort Harrison & Lakeview and Dr. MLK Jr Ave & Lakeview54Tyrone Square Mall/Pinellas Pk Transit CenterTyrone Square MallPinellas Park Transit CenterCommunity 58PSTA Complex/Seminole City Center via 118th Ave. NPSTA Complex - St. PetersburgSeminole City Center - SeminoleCommunityHourly service seven days a week; shorter Sunday and Holiday service.59A/BPSTA Complex to Indian Rocks Beach via Ulmerton Rd.PSTA Complex - St. Petersburg1 St. & 4 Ave. - Indian Rocks BeachLocalBuses arrive every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday and every hour on Sundays and Holidays at most stops service. Hourly at Washington Dr & 130th Ave Monday through Saturday and every two hours on Sundays and Holidays. Route 59A runs along Ulmerton Rd.