New Free Bus Rides Help Low-Income St. Pete Residents Commute: PSTA

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Starting Nov. 1, low-income St. Petersburg residents can ride Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority buses for work, healthcare and other life-sustaining trips for free.

The St. Petersburg City Council approved funding for the initiative Thursday morning. The free bus services are available to all city residents eligible for the PSTA’s Transportation Disadvantaged program, according to a news release from the agency.

The TD program currently offers reduced-cost bus rides to eligible people across Pinellas County.
Council members unanimously voted to approve the three-year agreement, which will end on Sept. 30, 2026, and includes one two-year renewal option not to exceed $175,000 per year.

“We are extremely thankful for the city of St. Petersburg for giving its low-income residents access to not only transportation, but to everything transportation represents — essentials like healthcare, education and work — so they can provide for their families,” Brad Miller ,PSTA CEO, said.

The TD program is a state-funded effort providing bus trips for residents whose gross household income is at or below 200 percent of poverty and who do not have alternative forms of transportation, such as automobile ownership, rides from household members, or free bus passes through the PSTA’s U-Pass and C-Pass programs.

In 2023, 200 percent of poverty equates to $60,000 per year for a four-person household, the agency said.

Through the TD program, PSTA offers eligible low-income residents throughout the county:

• Reduced-cost bus passes for between $5 and $11 a month.
• Door-to-door service if bus service will not meet their trip needs for $3 per trip.
• TD Late Shift service for an overnight job when bus service is not available for $9 per month.
• TD Tampa Bay, a regional on-demand service in partnership with Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.