The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) provides public transportation for Pinellas County, Florida. The authority manages a bus system that encompasses 40, including 2 express routes to Hillsborough County, and the Suncoast Beach Trolley (using all Gillig made buses and trolley replicas).
PSTA began in 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. By 1928, ridership on the system hit 4.2 million. In 1949, the Gulfport streetcar system was closed, marking the end of streetcar service in Pinellas County. Meanwhile, transit service elsewhere continued to expand.
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.
In October 1984, the two companies merged to create the PSTA. In the years following their merger, PSTA operated nearly 80 routes with a fleet or 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.
Massive expansion and improvements took place during the 1990s and well into the 2000s. PSTA constructed its Williams Park terminal in downtown St. Pete in 1994. In 1996, the agency introduced electronic fare cards (called GO Cards) and began replacing their outdated bus fleets with a combination of New Flyer and Gillig buses. In 2001, the Suncoast Beach Trolley began service along the gulf coast beaches and in 2003, PSTA purchased a fleet of buses (from Motor Coach Industries) to operate its express routes. Additional capital improvements were made during the early 2000s as well, including the renovation of the Park Street Terminal. In 2001, the website PSTA.net debuted.
In 2004, HART and PSTA began an intersystem passport to allow patrons from either county to use each other's bus systems without paying additional fares. A year later, PSTA's current operations center opened near Roosevelt Boulevard. In 2006, PSTA expanded its fleet with the purchase of 48 Gillig low-floor buses. HART and PSTA agreed to honor each other's reduced fare photo permits. In 2007, PSTA introduced an online trip planning system. This system allowed patrons to better plan out their trip throughout the PSTA system. In 2009, the interface was scrapped in favor of a partnership with Google, which HART began partnership back in 2007. This newest alliance allows patrons to seamlessly plan their trips on both the PSTA and HART systems. PSTA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Tampa Bay Regional RT), 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. The study would focus on the area between downtown Clearwater, Gateway, and downtown St. Petersburg. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recognized the MOU as an excellent example of inter-agency cooperation.PSTA partnered with the MPO, TBARTA and Pinellas County Communications to carry out the region’s first ever eTownHall Meeting on Transit and the Pinellas County Alternatives Analysis. The event was broadcast live on PCC-TV and on the web, and citizens were able to participate online or via telephone. It was the first time that all three technologies were combined for a Town Hall type of event in Pinellas County. In 2010 PSTA added 14 Diesel-Electric Hybrid Buses, bringing the hybrid fleet up to a total of 24 vehicles. These vehicles are branded with the SmartBus logos and are painted a sleek shade of silver.Agency leaders decided that investing in the environmentally friendly and fuel-saving hybrid technology was the best move for both PSTA and the community. As a result, PSTA replaced 10 standard gasoline cars with new Ford Fusion hybrid-electrics. Like their hybrid bus counterparts, the agency has branded its new hybrid sedans as SmartCars.
New fare changes went into effect on 10-11-2015.Kids under 6 ride for free with fare-paying rider; limit 3.
One-Way Cash Fares
PSTA Local Routes: $2.25
Local Route Student and Youth Fare (Restrictions Apply): $1.10
Discount Local: $1.10 (Proper ID Required)
PSTA Express Routes: $3
PSTA Passes
1-Day Unlimited GO Card
Local and Express: $5
Discount (Proper ID Required): $2.50
7-Day Unlimited GO Card
Local and Express: $25
Discount (Proper ID Required): $12.50
31-Day Unlimited GO-Card uRides for 31 Consecutive Days.
Not valid on 100X and 300X.
Valid for: Adult Student, Youth, Senior, Disabled, (with proper ID)* ID Required: Adult Student ID, PSTA Senior/Disabled Photo ID, HART Senior/Disabled Photo ID, PCPT Senior/Disabled Photo ID, Government-issued Photo ID (showing age as of 65 years or older), or Medicare Card. To obtain a PSTA Senior/Disabled Photo ID, present proof of age 65 years or older at a PSTA Customer Service Center. *Reduced Fare now includes adult students, youth 18 and younger as well as people with disabilities and Medicare cardholders.
Proper ID Required): $35
20-Ride GO Card
Description: Valid for 20 Rides on the 100X and 300X Express Buses
to Tampa
ID Required: None Fee $48
Platinum Pass -Description: Unlimited Rides for 7 Consecutive Days - for Youth 18 years or younger. Not valid on 100X and 300X. ID Required: PSTA Youth Photo ID, HART Youth Photo ID, Pasco PCPT Youth Photo ID, Government-issued Photo ID (showing age of 18 years or younger), or School Student ID. To obtain a PSTA Youth Photo ID, present proof of age 18 years or younger at a PSTA Customer Service Center.$12.50
'The Passport'Description: Unlimited Access on All PSTA and HART Services for an Entire Calendar Month ID Required: None
For use on all PSTA and HART Bus, Trolley, and Streetcar Routes. $85
PSTA operates 34 routes that traverse Pinellas County and 2 express routes that connect into downtown Tampa.
PSTA Suncoast Beach Trolley connects patrons to the Pinellas Gulf Coast Beaches via trolley-replica buses (similar to HART's downtown trolleys, but rubber-tired). The Suncoast Beach Trolley also connects to the Central Avenue Trolley (at St Pete Beach), as well as local routes: 59 (at Indian Rocks Beach), 68 (at Johns Pass) and 90 (at St Pete Beach), for seamless travel to and from other Pinellas destinations.
There are two flex-route cutaway van-operated "Connector" routes that operate in northern Pinellas County. The Dunedin/Palm Harbor Connector runs from Westfield Countryside to the Palm Harbor WalMart (off US 19 and Alderman Rd), with select trips going to the SPC Tarpon Springs Campus, and the Oldsmar/Tampa/Countryside Connector runs from Westfield Countryside to the HART Northwest Transfer Center in Town-N-Country, via Oldsmar and the Shoppes at Boot Ranch. Both connector routes run Monday through Saturday.
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.
The PSTA bus fleet encompasses of different models, Gillig, and Motor Coach Industries.
Trolley Replicas
