ST. PETE, Fla. — After much anticipation, Pinellas County's SunRunner Rapid Transit will launch in one week.
"Florida's finally putting transit first, not cars first," said SunRunner Operator Travis Shaw.
As potential riders wait for the launch of the bus that can go from Downtown St. Pete to St. Pete Beach in roughly 30 minutes, the drivers, like Shaw, have undergone intense training.
"We've had to learn how to drive up to platforms. Having to understand the theory of why we're doing bus rapid transit. It's just been it's been a lot," he said.
AJ Ortiz, Lead Trainer, Safety, Security and Training Supervisor for PSTA, said the challenge was learning to do what was previously dubbed a no-no.
"When we hire new drivers, we tell them the curb is bad, stay away from the curb because people are on the curb. And so on this portion of training, here, we are telling the we want to touch the curves. So trying to try to break good habits with almost seeming like bad ones," Ortiz said.
Nearly 400 drivers went through about 12-15 hours of training.
"The important thing we got to remember is the human element. And so we have drivers that are, you know, savvy. They've been doing this job for many, many years. And then we have others that never driven anything bigger than their, you know, their minivan. And so when it comes down to the safety of the public, there are things that you cannot, you know, take lightly," Ortiz added.
But all of that training is bringing a breath of fresh air to transit in Pinellas County.
"Every time we leave a stop, the lights are gonna turn to green. So that the bus is actually gonna be the fastest way to get to the beach and back. That's huge," said Shaw.
The rapid transit bus has its own lane, only shared with cars making an immediate left turn, allowing riders a less congested journey.
Driver Nehamiah Guerra said the inside is also different from your average bus.
"They can put up three bikes inside the bus, easy for a wheelchair, they can charge their cell phone, we have Wi-Fi, the bus is clean, new. And for many, what is very important in the first six months it's free," he said
SunRunner will operate every day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. with 15 minutes stops, then 30-minute stops from 8 a.m. to midnight.
The first 500 riders will receive a SunRunner Gold Card that offers discounts to businesses along the route.
For more information on the SunRunner project, visit the St. Petersburgs website.
