PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Funding is running out for public transportation in Pinellas County, which means changes could be coming, possibly including the end of the Central Avenue Trolley.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority’s CEO Brad Miller said in a workshop on June 7 that they are running out of pandemic funding and getting hit with inflation costs.
A few of the proposed changes to cut back on expenses include:
- Stopping operations of the Central Avenue Trolley in St. Petersburg
- Reducing the number of operators from 400 to 379, but not in layoffs, rather just halting new hires
- Eliminating late-night service on bus routes other than the SunRunner
"PSTA is one of the most underfunded transit agencies across the country," PSTA Spokesperson Stephanie Rank explained to ABC Action News. "COVID funds are depleting and now with the addition of inflation, you know, we're gonna have to make some cuts to our operating budget."
Pinellas isn’t alone in transportation troubles. It’s happening across the country. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is also looking at reducing service due to financial issues.
A spokesperson told us in a statement:
“In a county of 1.5 million residents and growing exponentially, HART is funded at a rate well below communities of comparable size. HART is used to doing more with less. Despite essentially operating a weekend service schedule, HART ridership is projected to increase to 12 million rides in FY24 – a return to pre-COVID ridership. The lack of funding, unfortunately, forces HART to focus operating dollars on higher-performing routes instead of coverage throughout the County. HART will need additional resources to continue to meet the growing needs of Hillsborough County.”
Some businesses in Downtown St. Petersburg are worried that this could affect people coming to work, shop, eat, and explore.
“This is my studio which I’m at seven days a week… I’m an impressionist, crafter, an abstract artist,” said Leonard Lewis.
His studio is located inside St. Pete Art Works off Central Avenue in the Arts District.
“A lot of out of towners want the Florida art. They want something to remember Florida by,” Lewis said, explaining that tourists discover the art stores on Central when they ride the Central Avenue Trolley.
“There's no big parking lots here and they have to park off down the streets on different blocks. So that trolley is also essential to them and getting it up here” he said. “I’m confused why it would be going away when it’s been so successful.”
We asked PSTA about Lewis’ concerns.
“The Central Avenue Corridor is one of the most populated corridors in the entire Tampa Bay region, so that’s one of the reasons why we had a BRT proposed for there, for the SunRunner, because it can easily take people from downtown to the beaches,” Rank explained. “The Central Avenue Trolley goes right through on central avenue, obviously, but the SunRunner takes you faster.”
PSTA launched the SunRunner in October with a 30-mile route from Downtown St. Pete to the beach, and they’re already expanding it, but that was with specific grant funding.
Nothing is final yet. PSTA will make their official budget cut proposals to the board on June 21. If approved, changes would go into effect on Oct. 1.