Students, Teachers Have A Ticket To Ride For Free On Pinellas County Public Buses

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — As of Jan. 1, Pinellas County students and staff have a ticket to ride Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority buses for free.

The Pinellas County School Board approved a partnership with the PSTA to provide free bus rides to all students and staff using the Universal Pass or UPASS or by showing their student or staff ID to the PTSA driver.

“PSTA has numerous public transit routes and bus stops convenient to schools throughout the county,” said Brad Miller, chief executive officer of the PSTA. “But UPass offers much more. All PCS students and staff will be able to ride for free, any time, on all routes so they can access jobs, after-school activities or even the beach.”

“We are thrilled to partner with PSTA to improve transportation options for our students and employees,” said Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Michael Grego. “Not only will our students and staff have free public transit to and from campus, they will also enjoy free PTSA bus service after school hours and on weekends.”

Grego said the partnership will also help make up for the lack of school bus drivers in Pinellas County, a nationwide problem. Pinellas County has the 28th largest school district in the country and requires more than 450 school bus drivers.

For the 2022-23 school year, the PSTA and PCS will work on a pilot program to time PSTA bus routes, route schedules and PCS bell times to serve students at Dunedin, Largo and Gibbs high schools.

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