Every day, tens of thousands of Pinellas residents rely on transit to get to work, school, doctor’s appointments, and essential services. But transit also helps residents who never set foot on a bus.
Frequent, reliable transit:
✅ Relieves traffic congestion
✅ Reduces air and noise pollution;
✅ Powering our economy;
✅ Lowering road maintenance costs; and
✅ Reducing crashes and saving lives.
Public transit isn’t a handout—it’s a public service. Just like roads, schools, and clean water.
Local officials, including County Commissioner Chris Scherer, are pushing to drastically cut funding for transit in Pinellas County. If they succeed, it will mean more traffic congestion, higher crash rates, greater car dependency, and fewer residents able to reliably get to work.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) is primarily funded through local property taxes set by a “millage rate.” This year, the PSTA Board has already voted to reduce that rate from 0.7342 to no more than 0.7300—the lowest level in more than a decade.
But Commissioner Scherer and his allies are pushing for even deeper cuts, demanding a drop to 0.7023. That would slash PSTA’s budget by more than $3 million, forcing PSTA to cut routes that residents rely on every day.
The most powerful way to protect transit funding in Pinellas County is to speak up in person at PSTA’s first budget and millage rate hearing.
[Add the hearing to your calendar here]
Need a ride or help shaping your public comment? Just let us know.
Can't make it on the 10th? Attend the second and final hearing:
[Add this hearing to your calendar here]
You can also email the PSTA Board using the link below to urge them to increase transit funding to make transit service faster and more reliable.
A personalized note is best, but even sending the pre-populated form email below is helpful. [If you're using Outlook, try this link.]