ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the pastel-colored bus turned the corner and approached a stop at USF St. Pete, the crowd that had lined up there — long before dawn — cheered.
As they climbed aboard the SunRunner's maiden voyage, the excitement was palpable.
Soon, all seats were taken and there was hardly room to stand. Squeezing into the packed bus, one rider — a construction worker en route to work — forgot where he was.
“I think I’m in New York,” he exclaimed. “Good morning, St. Pete!”
To that rider and others, the SunRunner is now an integral public transit option — and part of their daily routines.
Friday's maiden voyage means the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's brand new service is now up and running.
The rapid transit service — dubbed the SunRunner — has been described as historic and a first-of-its-kind mode of transportation in the Tampa Bay area. It transports drivers in a loop that travels through the heart of Downtown St. Petersburg to St. Pete Beach and back.
According to PSTA, a rider can go from downtown to the beach in just 35 minutes.
"While people are sitting in their cars and stuck in traffic, others will be jumping on the SunRunner, and they will be getting to their destinations much more efficiently," said Dr. Yvette Taylor with the Federal Transit Administration during a ribbon-cutting Thursday.
While the SunRunner looks like a bus, it operates more like a train. The route includes a designated lane for the SunRunner. It's paved in a burgundy color and cars that use it are only allowed to make left turns.
The 10-mile, 30-stop route is designed to meet the demands of work commuters and attract tourists and new riders into PSTA’s comprehensive transit system.
The SunRunner is free to ride through April 2023. After, standard PSTA rates will apply.
The SunRunner runs seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight.
During most of the day, it reaches each stop every fifteen minutes. Once it gets going, traffic lights and congestion won't stop it. It's been a dream in the works for nearly 15 years since a bus rapid transit line was first introduced.
PSTA CEO Brad Miller said SunRunner's launch is a proud moment in the transit authority's quest for more accessible public transportation options.
"One of the reasons it was built here is because it's always been one of the highest ridership corridors in the Tampa Bay region," he said.
Mayor Ken Welch sees the SunRunner as a chance to get ahead of St. Pete's growing population. There are 50,000 jobs and 40,000 residents along just a small portion of the SunRunner's route.
Pinellas County is the state’s most densely populated county and the SunRunner will travel one of PSTA’s most heavily used corridors.
“It's centrical to smart growth," Mayor Welch said. "Smart growth requires we have density where it makes sense. That we have transit that can connect folks from their homes to jobs and leaves our neighborhoods untouched."
Friday morning, as one rider stepped off the maiden voyage, he summed up his excitement.
"We were part of history today," he smiled. "Amazing!"
Learn more about SunRunner at this link.
