Will a St. Pete-Clearwater airport shuttle get tourists out of cars?
It's the first transit option available to people passing through Tampa Bay's secondary airport. The concept sprung from visitor feedback asking for more transit options, said Brad Miller, CEO of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority.
Some of Pinellas' most popular routes appeal to tourists. The SunRunner, an express bus service, ferried more than 55,000 riders in December between downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach, both tourist hotspots. Beachside trolleys and routes to the beach represented more than a sixth of Pinellas' bus ridership that month.
But the launch of another tourist-centered service has some leaders questioning whether that's the right direction for the transit agency.
'It seems that it's another SunRunner,' said Barb Haselden, a citizen appointee to the agency's board. 'It seems like it's... another deterrent from the core business model, which is serving the people of Pinellas County.'
The service, called the Grouper, will cost a single rider $8, while groups will pay between $20 and $30 for door-to-door service from the airport to their hotel. In comparison, a single Uber or Lyft ride for the 12-mile route from the airport to the beach typically costs between $30 and $50.
Since its soft launch two weeks ago, 79 people have used the Grouper over 34 rides, averaging about two riders per shuttle trip. The goal is to reach 50 to 100 riders per day by next year.
St. Pete Beach Mayor Adrian Petrila said in order for the service to get cars off of jammed roadways like the Clearwater Memorial Causeway, multiple families would need to carpool in the shuttle. Otherwise, he said, the service would just divert dollars from local Uber drivers to a subsidized shuttle bus.
'The tourists are already spending money to come here,' Petrila said. 'Why are we subsidizing, with our residents' tax dollars, for your vacation?'
Pinellas County commissioners Brian Scott and Kathleen Peters said the service was worth a shot to improve miserable spring break traffic jams as some 4.5 million visitors descend on Pinellas beaches each spring.
Max McCann, another citizen appointee to the transit agency board, said he hopes visitors will forego rental cars entirely if they have transit options to and along Clearwater Beach, easing parking shortages on the barrier islands.
But for any of those benefits to manifest, more people will need to sign up for the shuttle service. Transit officials are working with Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, the tourism booster, to advertise the service to visitors online before they book a rental car.
The Pinellas transit agency has also taken over and expanded the frequency of another tourist-heavy service: the Clearwater Ferry, which before the pandemic moved visitors and residents between downtown Clearwater and the beach. In the last month, more than 1,700 people used the service, already an improvement over pre-pandemic totals.
'Tourism is our No. 1 economic driver in Pinellas County,' Peters said. 'The more we can do to enhance the experience of someone coming into the county helps (make) us... one of the best destinations to come to.'
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