Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority

This was most of this was discussed with standby council in Florida that Dr has asked you already.

We've subbed out like the records custodian from PSTA cause the other one moved out of state.

So we had her named Charles King.

became an issue for the motion of limiting for the depositions that we conducted.

We're back to that.

So PSTA has secured $850,000 in federal funding towards the permanent Tampa Bay ferry dock at the St. Pete Pier.

as the agency prepares to restart ferry services between downtown St. Pete and Tampa later this year.

The planned terminal near the St. Petersburg Museum of History would accommodate two ferries at once and include a security gate, ticket booth, and ADA compliant access.

need billionaires donating more money to us.

Yes.

So the new service will use PSTA-owned vessels and replace the former Cross Bay Ferry, which ended in 2025 after Hillsborough County terminated its agreement with the previous operator.

Trips between downtown St. Pete and Tampa are expected to take about 45 to 50 minutes, with one-way fares expected to cost $10.

We've been blessed to get the contract to operate the Tampa Bay Ferry or Cross Bay Ferry and bring that back to life.

So my father right now is in Mexico getting the Bay Breeze, one of these big 250, 150 passenger boats that we just worked with PSTA to secure onto a ship to bring it here so we can start operating that ferry operation.

When did that ferry stop operating?

maybe like two years ago off the

And back then it was Hornblower was the company that operated it.

And they were only operating about seven months out of the year on a limited schedule.

So now we've worked with PSTA to find these two vessels.

And now we're bringing these vessels here.

And we've seen it with a lot of transit agencies around the country that have launched BRT.

I mean, we had Brad Miller, CEO of PSTA, you know, a few episodes back, he came on stop requested to discuss his projects and for them was transformational.

Also in, you know, good stations, good planning and infrastructure of the service, reliable service with, you know, reliable travel times, like you mentioned.

And then it takes time, right? Like building that education, having people trying it and having a pleasant experience.

This is a great one.

We go down and talk with one of America's Longest leading CEOs in the nation, Brad Miller, he is at PSTA, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, in St. Pete, Clearwater.

When we talk with him, we talk with a bunch of his leaders in his agency, Leon Smiley, who is their most tenured bus operator, Darden Rice, the chief of planning and community affairs officer, Whit Blanton, who's the head of their MPO, executive director of Ford Pinellas, and Bonnie Satter, the Director of Mobility Service, and Amanda Baird, Director of Communications and Marketing.

And we interview them all over the place.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was in Tampa on Monday to announce funds for multiple infrastructure upgrades in the region.

Duffy announced a $16.5 million Federal Transit Administration award to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, for a new passenger ferry connecting Tampa and St. Petersburg's downtowns.

At Port Tampa Bay, Duffy also announced a $1 million MARAD Shipyard Grant for Gulf Marine Repair Corps to upgrade infrastructure and expand welder training.

And while at Tampa International Airport, he highlighted upgrades coming to the facility, including radar, voice switches, and fiber upgrades, along with a planned new control tower.

I know that's another key issue for you.

And you were saying earlier that you are working closely or now serving on the board of the PSTA.

Is that right? Ideally for you, what would St.

Pete's transportation system look like?

And I think, uh, the best way for us to do that is to create more premium service.

In different parts of the city.

And I think that that's the direction PSTA wants to head in.

We created the Sunrunner, the first bus rapid transit in the southeast.