PSTA revamps bus system for first time in 40 years

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, in response to evolving transit trends, is overhauling its countywide bus network for the first time since the agency’s inception in 1984. 

Revamped routes will offer more night and weekend service to meet demand. The changes will also improve connectivity and reduce transfer times. Fares will remain unchanged. 

PSTA’s Connected Community Bus Network will launch Oct. 26. Planning Director Nicole Dufva noted the sweeping initiative is cost-neutral and will operate within the agency’s current “pretty constrained” budget.

“This is the first time we’ve done a really robust, comprehensive analysis of our service,” Dufva told the Catalyst. “We’ve been collecting data for at least two to three years on travel patterns and how people are getting around Pinellas County. How they’re using PSTA’s bus service now.” 

Commute patterns have shifted following the pandemic, with many people now working remotely. Those changes are more pronounced in a county dominated by the tourism and hospitality industries that require employees to work nights and weekends. 

Dufva said weekend ridership has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, while weekday service is “no longer in high demand.” Transfer times can discourage people from utilizing public transit, and PSTA wants to ensure more people can get off a bus and onto another with no wait. 

“Routes are designed to be more direct,” Dufva said. “They’re more corridor-based, with fewer deviations.” 

Connectivity to downtown St. Petersburg, Grand Central Station, the Park Street Terminal and the Largo Transit Center should improve significantly. PSTA will merge multiple downtown routes that end in various locations to mitigate walking distances between stations. 

“So, the transfers in downtown St. Pete should be closer together with the new network,” Dufva added. 

PSTA also eagerly anticipates the Oct. 27 launch of Spark, a limited-stop, high-frequency bus route along 34th Street South in St. Petersburg. The service, which connects Eckerd College students to Grand Central Station, will operate from 5 a.m. to midnight. 

Dufva said the agency is “really trying” to increase frequency and “add more Sunrunner-like services without the dedicated lane, knowing that we can’t have that.” The goal is to follow a model similar to the region’s first bus rapid transit service, with “some premium-branded stations.” 

“It’s really exciting for us to launch the service,” Dufva said of Spark. “I think it’s going to be one that we try to replicate across the county.” 

Local planning agency Forward Pinellas and PSTA have already identified U.S. 19 Alt., “from St. Petersburg all the way up to Tarpon Springs,” as a potential route. “So, looking at that whole corridor, and how can we add similar, premium rapid service?” Dufva said. 

“It’s probably still a few years into the future, but that’s something we’re actively working on now.”

PSTA plans to continue adding high-frequency, premium services. Photo by Mark Parker.

The overarching goal is to continue aligning stakeholder feedback with cost-effective services. Those efforts recently led to the Grouper, an on-demand, low-fare shuttle service between St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport and Clearwater Beach. 

PSTA is also exploring a high-frequency route between downtown St. Petersburg and Tampa International Airport. The new Howard Frankland Bridge’s express lanes will facilitate that service when construction concludes in early 2026. 

For now, PSTA’s focus remains on gathering additional public feedback, as it has for over two years, to inform the Connected Community Bus Network. Dufva said agency officials will conduct “robust outreach” on buses, at transit centers and through community events held in partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete. 

She noted that multiple routes stop at the Publix plaza in downtown St. Petersburg, and that will continue serving as a primary transfer hub. “We’re just working with the city to make sure we have all the space needed to layover, and they’ve been great partners,” Dufva said. 

She believes additional stakeholders will realize the benefits of high-frequency, premium service when the Spark launches. “With or without the dedicated lanes,” Dufva added. 

PSTA’s governing board unanimously approved the new network in March. Dufva said they support the agency’s innovative approach to prioritizing limited resources and providing streamlined services “where riders need it the most. 

“It’s a pretty big reorganization, and it’s all-hands-on-deck at PSTA,” she said. “We’re just really excited about it.” 

Despite the massive overhaul, PSTA also plans to lower its millage rate – the formula used to calculate property taxes – for the second consecutive year. “We do our due diligence with the money that we do get from our taxpayers, and we try to bring the best service that we can to them,” Dufva said.