Janelle Irwin Taylor
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) will celebrate the grand opening of a new SunRunner station this Friday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating a new station on 1st Avenue North near the St. Pete Pier and other downtown St. Pete amenities.
The 10 a.m. ceremony will include U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, members of the St. Pete City Council and other local community leaders. In addition to providing closer access to the St. Pete Pier, the stop will also add transit connectivity to the bustling Beach Drive retail and entertainment corridor, the Cross Bay Ferry, downtown restaurants and businesses and the downtown waterfront.
The new station, located at 140 1st Ave. N., was funded through cost savings from the original SunRunner project, which came in $5 million under budget.
The SunRunner, launched in October 2022, connects St. Pete Beach to downtown St. Pete along 1st Avenues North and South, PSTA’s busiest corridor. It remains one of the transit authority’s top-performing routes and is on track to reach 2 million riders soon.
In addition to Castor, PSTA CEO Brad Miller will be at the ribbon cutting, along with state Rep. Lindsay Cross, St. Pete City Council member and PSTA Board Chair Gina Driscoll, St. Pete City Council member Copley Gerdes and Teak restaurant owner Chuck Prather.
For more information about the SunRunner, including an interactive map, click here.
2 comments
rbruce
January 8, 2025 at 12:22 pm
SunRunner ridership statistics are based on early free fare time period. Ridership has dropped by half when full fares are started. Daily ridership is less than 1,700. Rough calculations – 4 buses per hour for 14 hours = 56 one-way trips, about 15 riders per round trip. City decided that closing one lane of two busy street to accommodate 15 people per 15 minute is better than allowing about 50 cars from using the lane during the same time period.
mike
January 8, 2025 at 1:09 pm
I hate this bus. I hate the PR machine that supports this bus. I HATE IT SO MUCH!!!