St. Pete partners with PSTA to offer free bus rides for low-income residents

St. Petersburg City Council unanimously approved $175,000 to subsidize bus fares for low-income residents last week.

The funds will go towards the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) Transportation Disadvantaged Program, part of a statewide subsidy for low-income and houseless individuals needing transportation.

Evan Mory, St. Pete’s transportation and parking management director, told the council in his presentation that PSTA got over $4 million in TD funds last year, but it still leaves a gap that folks must pay out of pocket.

“Our proposal, included in this year’s budget, is to buy down the rest to a $0 fare,” Mory said at the meeting.

The agreement allocates $175,000 for fares beginning November 1 and ending September 30, 2026, with one two-year renewal option. PSTA will administer the program for individuals at or below 200% Federal Poverty Line or FPL.

The vote comes just weeks after the city’s hugely successful SunRunner bus rapid transit program was forced to implement fares earlier than planned. That’s after St. Pete Beach leaders and residents said homeless folks were taking free rides to the beach to cause crime, “accost” tourists, and sleep in the sand.

St. Pete Beach City Commissioner Chris Marone called them “troublemakers” and lamented that all Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and other local law enforcement agencies could do was “make their lives miserable.”

Within weeks, and at the behest of Gualtieri, PSTA’s board voted 12-2 to implement fares a month early, beginning October 1.

PSTA had picked up the bill for fares as part of the preliminary rollout that began October 1, 2022, and was supposed to run through November 1, 2023. In addition, St. Pete had allocated $200,000 towards subsidizing SunRunner bus fares in FY2024.

“We had a discussion about a budget line item for keeping the SunRunner free,” Mory said. “Unfortunately, that didn’t move forward.”

In response, St. Pete amended its interlocal agreement with PSTA. But Mory and Ross Silvers, PSTA’s ADA officer, contend that the revised fare subsidy allows qualifying residents greater access.

“The SunRunner doesn’t cover the whole city,” Mory said. “…If somebody qualifies, they can ride any route in the system.”

City residents who are low-income, at or below 200% FPL, can qualify for a free bus pass with documentation through PSTA’s two-page application. Applicants have to verify residence, with the unhoused doing so through social service agencies, to prove they’re St. Pete residents. They must also self-certify that they cannot access an alternative ride.

Councilman Richie Floyd raised concerns about some of the documentation required for proof of income.

“I just want to point out that this is a bit of a complicated process,” Floyd said at the meeting. “For someone who’s precariously housed or having issues with income, it would be difficult to collect forms like this.”

This article appears in Oct 5-11, 2023.